Map of solar energy potential

What is solar energy potential?

Global map showing practical solar energy potential after excluding for physical, environmental and other factors The potential for clean, carbon-free electricity generation from solar photovoltaic (PV) sources in most countries dwarfs their current electricity demand.

What is the solar resource potential report based on?

The report is based on data provided by the World Bank through the Global Solar Atlas, a free, web-based tool providing the latest data on solar resource potential globally. It is accompanied by country factsheets, downloadable from the Global Solar Atlas, that provide a summary of the resource potential and how it compares to other countries.

Where can I find solar resource data?

Explore solar resource data via our online geospatial tools and downloadable maps and data sets. Access our tools to explore solar geospatial data for the contiguous United States and several international regions and countries.

What are the features of the Global Solar Atlas?

The Global Solar Atlas offers 4 key features: 1. Interactive maps Interactive maps allow visualisation of solar resource potential for a region and provide annual average values for each map click. 2. PV energy yield calculator PV yield calculator allows calculation of long-term energy yield for a custom-defined PV system.

What is a solar map based application?

Online map-based application: [ 2 ] Interactive maps allow visualisation of global solar resource data at approx 250 m grid resolution, covering global horizontal irradiation (GHI), direct normal irradiation (DNI), diffuse horizontal irradiation (DIF), and also PV power potential (PVOUT) and air temperature (TEMP) data at approx. 1 km.

Is there a difference between solar potential and practical potential?

Perhaps surprisingly, the difference in average practical potential between countries with the highest potential (e.g. Namibia) and the lowest (e.g. Ireland) is slightly less than a factor of two. In total, 93% of the global population lives in countries that have an average daily solar PV potential between 3.0 and 5.0 kWh/kWp.