Comparison of spatial interpolation methods for the estimation of solar potential in Castilla y León

Abstract

Solar radiation is one of the most relevant and influential climatic variables in the interactions of the Earth System, as it is a determining factor for the development of many processes and disciplines in different fields such as agriculture, transport, architectural design, or renewable energies. Among renewable energies, one of the most representative is solar energy. Many countries, such as Spain, have a high potential for photovoltaic energy production. For some years now, research has been carried out on designing and implementing these systems in an integrated way to maximise their use. The spatio-temporal distribution of Global Horizontal Irradiance (GHI) and other variables derived from it, such as Photosynthetically Active Radiation (PAR), provide valuable information as it can be used, among other things, to estimate plant growth or to prevent environmental or biological risks.