An interactive tool for visualization and prediction of solar radiation and photovoltaic generation in Colombia

ABSTRACT This paper presents the building process of an interactive instrument called the Colombian Solar Atlas able to easily visualize meteorological data but also assess the current and future potentials of solar photovoltaic generation throughout the whole territory of Colombia, South America. This new tool is based on two different meteorological databases. The first one is done with historical data extracted from satellite imagery information, and the other one corresponds to data issues from regional-scale climate change projection models. The satellite database was validated with different in-situ measurements. The Colombian Solar Atlas uses basic and advanced photovoltaic generation models to estimate the generation of a custom solar installation. With this tool, a user selects a point on the map and can have directly pertinent information to search for an optimal location with a spatial resolution of 4 km2. This tool is the first open interactive online tool particularly adapted to study the photovoltaic power potential in Colombia, considering the country’s needs and native language.