Solar Resource for Urban Communities in the Baja California Peninsula, Mexico

Abstract

Several studies have determined that Mexico has great renewable energy potential, and one of its most abundant resources is solar energy, a source that could be exploited to provide development opportunities to its population, however it is necessary to calculate the amount of this source available. The aim of this study was to assess solar irradiance at urban communities in the Baja California Peninsula. For this purpose data recorded every 10 min during 6 years (2010–2015) by the Automatic Meteorological Stations (AMSs) and Synoptic Automatic Meteorological Stations (SAMSs) of the National Meteorological System of Mexico (NMS) were analyzed. Satellite data from the Surface and Meteorology Energy System (SMSE) were also used, and a linear regression was performed to compare the measured and satellite data. The highest R-square value found was 0.97 and the lowest was 0.82. Daily patterns show that Cabo San Lucas had the highest average solar irradiation/day, with 1000 W/m2. Considering the urban areas, total solar irradiation reaching the Peninsula is about 447 106 kWh, which represents around 447 times the total Baja California Peninsula yearly energy consumption. Geographic Information System (GIS) helped to identify the zones and months with higher solar resources. May is the month registering the highest irradiation, more than 8.1 kWh/m2/day, while the average solar resource for the whole Peninsula is 5.7 kWh/m2/day.