Solar Energy Assessment in Washington DC

Ishampreet
Ishampreet

July 15, 2024

Solar Energy Assessment in Washington DC

I utilized the Digital Surface Model (DSM) to create a hill shading effect. Hill shading helped simulate three-dimensional effect on a two-dimensional space, making it easier to visualize the tops of various buildings and surrounding trees. This visualization is crucial for assessing how these features could impact the amount the neighborhood receives. The DSM was then used to derieve intermediate slope, aspect and solar radiation rasters. Analysis of these layers was then conducted to identify areas with slopes less than 45 degrees, producing at least 800 kWh per square meter, areas with flat slopes, and to exclude north-facing slopes. Once we had the raster that met all the criterion, I utilized the Zonal Statiscs as a Table tool to calculate mean solar energy within the predefined zones of buildings polygon layer. The final step of the analysis involved identifying buildings with area greater than or equal to 30 square metres to ensure sufficient space for solar panel installation. The potential of a building to generate power was calculated by multiplying building's usable area by the average solar radiation per square meter. The amount of power generated not only depends upon the amount of energy produced therefore electric power production potential was calculated by multiplyingusable solar radiation values by the efficiency and performance ratio values.


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tags

Renewable energy resilience solarSpatial AnalysisSustainability

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