Prediction of Circumsolar Irradiance and Its Impact on CSP Systems under Clear Skies

Edgar F.M. Abreu (), Paulo Canhoto and Maria João Costa
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Edgar F.M. Abreu: Instituto de Ciências da Terra, Universidade de Évora, Rua Romão Ramalho 59, 7000-671 Évora, Portugal
Paulo Canhoto: Instituto de Ciências da Terra, Universidade de Évora, Rua Romão Ramalho 59, 7000-671 Évora, Portugal
Maria João Costa: Instituto de Ciências da Terra, Universidade de Évora, Rua Romão Ramalho 59, 7000-671 Évora, Portugal

Energies, 2023, vol. 16, issue 24, 1-15

Abstract: In this work, a model to estimate circumsolar normal irradiance (CSNI) for several half-opening angles under clear skies was developed. This approach used a look-up table to determine the model parameters and estimate CSNI for half-opening angles between 0.5° and 5°. To develop and validate the proposed model, data from five locations worldwide were used. It was found that the proposed model performs better at the locations under study than the models available in the literature, with relative mean bias error ranging from −13.94% to 0.70%. The impact of CSNI for these different half-opening angles on concentrating solar power (CSP) systems was also studied. It was found that neglecting CSNI could lead to up to a 7% difference between the direct normal irradiance (DNI) measured by a field pyrheliometer and the DNI that is captured by CSP systems. Additionally, a case study for parabolic trough concentrators was performed as a way to estimate the impact of higher circumsolar ratios (CSR) on the decrease of the intercept factor for these systems. It was also concluded that if parabolic trough designers aim to reduce the impact of CSNI variation on the intercept factor, then parabolic troughs with higher rim angles are preferred.

Keywords: solar energy; direct normal irradiance; circumsolar irradiance; concentrating solar power systems; parabolic trough (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: 2023
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