GOES Solar Radiation Products in Support of Renewable Energy

1. Pre-processing Main processing GOES Imager AREA Files Acquire GOES Imager files GSIP-v2 retrieve cloud properties, retrieve SW flux, retrieve LW flux Generate Clear Composite 28-day clear composite file AREA files for previous 28 days Output data file: HDF and binary, Gridded values of cloud properties, SW fluxes, visible flux at surface, LW fluxes, skin temperature GSIP Validation System Acquire and reformat GFS data GFS data Reformatted GFS data netCDF format conversion Image generation Acquire and remap IMS snow data IMS snow data Remapped IMS snow data netCDF output Images GOES Solar Radiation Products in Support of Renewable Energy Istvan Laszlo1(GOVERNMENT PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR), Hongqing Liu2, Andrew Heidinger1, Mitch Goldberg1 1NOAA/NESDIS/STAR/SMCD, 2DPSGS • Requirements: • Expand and enhance advanced technology monitoring and observing systems to provide accurate, up-to-date information. • Develop and apply new technologies, methods, and models to increase the capabilities, efficiencies, and accuracy of transportation-related products and services. • Science:How does the solar radiation available at the surface change as a function of atmospheric and surface conditions? • Benefit: The renewable energy industry will have surface solar radiation products that • benefit siting of future solar farms, • help integration of solar energy into the national and regional electrical grid systems, and • increase confidence in resource estimation for future planning. Evaluation of GOES Surface Solar Radiation The Retrieval Algorithm • Input Data • GOES Area channel files • Satellites: GOES East & GOES West • Domains: Full Disk & Northern Hemisphere Extended • For GOES-11, Channels 1-5 • For GOES-12+, Channels 1-4,6 • NCEP Global Forecast System • 12-hour forecast, 0.5 degree grid • Interactive Multisensor Snow and Ice Mapping System (IMS) data • Intermediate Data • Clear Composite (28-day darkest-pixel composite of 0.64 micron channel) • Output Data • GSIP output products (38) for GENHEM, GEDISK, GWNHEM, GWDISK domains • All output products in a single file • Output formats: HDF, netCDF, binary • Ancillary Data • Coast mask, land mask, landcover type, elevation • RTM coefficients • Algorithm LUTs Evaluation with historic data. Bias (top) and root-mean-square (bottom) differences of hourly (left) and monthly (right) GSIP-fd and surface fluxes for Feb-Dec 2001. Land sites: BON, FPK, GWN, PSU. Ocean sites; COVE, TAO1, TAO2. Principle of Surface Radiation Retrieval Examples of VIS channel 1 reflectance and inputs to the insolation algorithm for Aug 11, 2004, 17:45 UTC VIS reflectance (%) Composite clear reflectance (%) Clear and partly clear reflectance (%) Cloudy and partly cloudy reflectance (%) Surface Solar Radiation Products at STAR Primary source of ground data is the NOAA Surface Radiation Budget Network (SURFRAD). The solar energy business sector requires high quality solar radiation data (total irradiance and direct beam irradiance) that provide national and regional coverage, especially in regions with high potential for solar energy (SE). Surface solar radiation estimated from measurements made by instruments on geostationaryplatforms can provide the data needed as these satellites make frequent observations of the same location during the course of a day. Several such products are generated or planned at STAR. Users of GOES Surface Solar Radiation Product Solar Energy specific Products Illustration of retrieval of transmittance from TOA albedo (reflectance) for the geometry and atmospheric condition shown (no surface effects). The clear-sky/cloudy-sky transmittance is ~0.69/0.28 corresponding to the TOA albedo of 0.1/0.5. Cloud fraction Dominant cloud type 0:clear, 1:partly cloudy, 2:liquid water, 3:supercooled liquid, 4:thick ice (convective), 5:thin ice Water vapor (cm) Ozone (cm) Example of GSIP-fd Results Science Challenges: Calibration of past and current GOES visible measurements should be improved to increase accuracy of insolation products. Separation of atmospheric and surface effects, and estimation of surface solar radiation over snow remain challenging. Next Steps:Improve retrievals over snow; Implement new aerosol climatology and improve retrieval of direct beam irradiance; Re-process historic GOES data. Transition Path: Update processing system for new satellite; disseminate data via the internet and archive at NCDC. Example of surface SW irradiance retrieved in the GSIP-fd system for the extended Northern Hemisphere for January 6, 2010. Frequent observations may permit forecast of insolation for short time periods into the future.