SOLIS—A Novel Decision Support Tool for the Assessment of Solar Radiation in ArcGIS

Jan K. Kazak and Małgorzata Świąder
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Jan K. Kazak: Department of Spatial Economy, Faculty of Environmental Engineering and Geodesy, Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences, 50-357 Wrocław, Poland
Małgorzata Świąder: Department of Spatial Economy, Faculty of Environmental Engineering and Geodesy, Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences, 50-357 Wrocław, Poland

Energies, 2018, vol. 11, issue 8, 1-12

Abstract: The global Sustainable Development Goals influence the implementation of energy development strategies worldwide. However, in order to support local stakeholders in sustainable energy development strategies and climate change adaptation plans and the implementation of policies, there is a need to equip local decision makers with tools enabling the assessment of sustainable energy investments. In order to do so, the aim of this study is to create a novel tool for the assessment of solar radiation (SOLIS) in ArcGIS. The SOLIS tool builds on the existing ArcGIS algorithm by including input data conversion and post-processing of the results. This should expand the group of potential users of solar radiation analyses. The self-filtering tool excludes surfaces that are not suitable for solar energy investments due to geometrical reasons. The reduction of the size of the output data is positive for technical reasons (speed of the calculation and occupied storage place) and for cognitive reasons (reduction of the number of objects necessary to analyse by the user). The SOLIS tool limits the requirement for users to insert three-dimensional (3D) models of roofs (with any geometry) and select solar radiation calculation periods. The highlight of this research is to develop the decision support tool for the assessment of solar radiation, which would reduce the requirements for potential users, in order to promote indicator-based assessments among non-Geographical Information Systems (GIS) specialists.

Keywords: decision support system; ArcGIS; solar radiation; sustainable development; photovoltaics; renewable energy; simulation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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