Mapping the potential of photovoltaic systems in urban areas of Slovakia

Photovoltaic (PV) systems generating electricity from solar radiation are foreseen as a technology option significantly contributing to the sustainable energy supply. The action plan of the European Commission as outlined in the White Paper "Energy for the Future: Renewable Sources of Energy" can be greatly added by a map-based inventory of the most suitable areas for the installation of PV systems. The quantification of the solar energy resource and an assessment of a potential PV electricity production in the urbanised area of Slovakia is presented. The methodology is based on the use of a digital elevation model with grid resolution of 500 metres and the CORINE land cover database within a GIS application. The spatial patterns of monthly and annual means of daily sums of global irradiation are calculated using the digital elevation model and climatic data. The potential PV production is calculated for the Slovak urbanised areas. The building-integrated horizontal panels and south-facing panels inclined at angles of 15, 25 and 40 degrees are considered, based on the technical capabilities of the current PV systems. The resulting map shows the most suitable urbanised areas, considering different array geometries of the grid-connected household installations. The calculation of PV production potential is a basic step for further analyses and forecasts of energy demand/supply taking into account other socio-economic data.