Methods for deriving solar radiation from satellite data in Malaysia

This article reviews several methods of calculating solar radiation from satellite derived earth atmospheric reflectivity from the visible channel. Most models calculate global and direct beam solar radiation on daily and hourly basis. Statistical models do not require precise information on atmospheric parameters whereas physical models apply these atmospheric parameters. These later evolved where authors developed hybrid models combining both. Despite a considerable number of publications which use satellite data to derive solar radiation, many models were modified and improved from existing models which were considered popular models. These popular models are briefly reviewed in this article. Most models were developed for the North American or European climate except for the physical model of Janjai et al 2005, which considered the tropical climate and the Brazillian Solar Radiation model. The models estimate hourly global solar irradiation with a RMSE between 6.8% and 25.6% while the daily global solar irradiation RMSE is between 12.9% and 18.13%.