Spatiotemporal indicators of solar energy potential in the Guiana Shield using GOES images

The purpose of this article is to evaluate the potential for solar energy in the Guiana Shield and propose indicators to encourage the exploitation of solar energy systems in this area. For this, we use the Heliosat-2 optimized method to process images from the geostationary meteorological satellite GOES acquired in the period from April 2010 to July 2015. We calculated the average daily global horizontal irradiation (GHI) and direct normal irradiation (DNI) throughout the study period. The results obtained allowed us to establish four indicators: maps of production potential, the inter-day variability of DNI and GHI, maps of solar panel orientation related to maximum solar potential, and maps of areas where the solar resource is under the exploitable potential threshold. We also added an additional indicator, the suitability of areas for solar system installation depending on the ground slope. Our study shows that the average value of production potential for the entire Guiana Shield is approximately 1780 kWh.kWc−1.year−1 for GHI and 2040 kWh.kWc−1.year−1 for DNI. Comparisons with pyranometer measurements indicate an error relative bias of less than 2% and a relative RMSE of less than 21% for hourly estimates of GHI. Although the Guiana Shield region is covered by many clouds, few areas show insufficient solar potential for the exploitation of GHI and DNI, but the hilly nature of the area limits possible locations of very large power plants and instead favors more medium-sized plants. This is the first study that offers exploitability indicators for solar resources in the Guiana Shield. In conclusion, the established indicators provide a new perspective on the solar potential in the Guiana Shield and are expected to promote the development of new solar energy operating systems.