A multivariate regression model for the assessment of solar radiation in the Senegalese territories

Abstract

Senegal has a great solar potential, so it could be used to shift from a diesel-based power generation to cheaper renewable energy resources. To exploit this inexhaustible natural resource, the global horizontal irradiation remains one of the key parameters for any solar energy project at a given location. This work establishes a multiple linear regression approach to estimate the solar radiation in the Senegalese territories using the information of the global network of weather geostationary satellites (Meteosat and GOES), satellites database and the ground measurement data available in the website of the World Radiation Data Center (WRDC) as inputs to the model. Jointly a set of multivariate regression models, a statistical analysis between Meteonorm data and outputs of different linear combinations are presented in this work, which also gives the opportunity to appreciate the precision and consistency of each solar radiation model on different locations in the study area.