Yearly changes in surface solar radiation in New Caledonia

Philippe Blanc (1) , Céline Coulaud (2) , Lucien Wald (1)

1 O.I.E. - Centre Observation, Impacts, Énergie
2 ADEME - Agence de l'Environnement et de la Maîtrise de l'Energie

New Caledonia experiences a decrease in surface solar irradiation since 2004. It is of order of 4 % of the mean yearly irradiation over the 10 years period: 2004–2013, and amounts to −9 W m−2 . The preeminent roles of the changes in cloud cover and to a lesser extent, those in aerosol optical depth on the decrease in yearly irradiation are evidenced. The study highlights the role of data sets offering a worldwide coverage in under-standing changes in solar radiation and planning large solar energy plants such as the ICOADS (International Comprehensive Ocean-Atmosphere Data Set) of the NOAA and MACC (Monitoring Atmosphere Composition and Climate) data sets combined with the McClear model.

Domaines: Océan, Atmosphère; Météorologie; Sciences de l'ingénieur [physics]; Energie électrique

Philippe Blanc, Céline Coulaud, Lucien Wald. Yearly changes in surface solar radiation in New Caledonia. Advances in Science and Research, 2015, 12, pp.1 - 4. ⟨10.5194/asr-12-1-2015⟩. ⟨hal-01117393⟩