Investigating the Current State of Solar Energy Use in Countries with Strong Radiation Potential in Asia Using GIS Software, A Review

Abstract

The adverse environmental effects of traditional ways for producing electricity necessitate accurate and extensive planning for renewable and sustainable energy generation systems. A review of the research in this field shows that no work has been conducted so far to study the condition of solar energies in Asia to find suitable places for installing large-scale solar power plants. Therefore, given lack the general modelling in this case, the purpose of analyzing solar data in Asia in the present work is to support the utilization of large-scale renewable power plants. Along with analyzing the current level of using renewable energies in Asian countries, the present work also identifies suitable places for using solar energy using GIS software and meteorological data taken from NASA website for 2892 stations in 49 Asian countries. Boolean Logic was used for managing and selection of data. Results indicated that, except for Russia, a small area in South of Mongolia, Eastern half and North-western of China, North of Vietnam, Northern half of Taiwan, North Korea, South Korea, Kazakhstan, Northern half of Kyrgyzstan, Northern half of Uzbekistan, North-west of Turkmenistan, North-west of Iran, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, and Northern one-third of Turkey, other areas in the Asian continent are totally suitable for using solar energy.