Mapping and Estimation of Monthly Global Solar Irradiation in Different Zones in Souss-Massa Area, Morocco, Using Artificial Neural Networks

Solar radiation data play an important role in solar energy research. However, in regions where the meteorological stations providing these data are unavailable, strong mapping and estimation models are needed. For this reason, we have developed a model based on artificial neural network (ANN) with a multilayer perceptron (MLP) technique to estimate the monthly average global solar irradiation of the Souss-Massa area (located in the southwest of Morocco). In this study, we have used a large database provided by NASA geosatellite database during the period from 1996 to 2005. After testing several models, we concluded that the best model has 25 nodes in the hidden layer and results in a minimum root mean square error (RMSE) equal to 0.234. Furthermore, almost a perfect correlation coefficient was found between measured and estimated values. This developed model was used to map the monthly solar energy potential of the Souss-Massa area during a year as estimated by the ANN and designed with the Kriging interpolation technique. By comparing the annual average solar irradiation between three selected sites in Souss-Massa, as estimated by our model, and six European locations where large solar PV plants are deployed, it is apparent that the Souss-Massa area is blessed with higher solar potential.