Estimating Solar Energy Potential in Eritrea: a GIS-based Approach

Abstract

The request to improve electric supply in Eritrea has motivated the country to look for alternative energy resources to enhance existing power. Eritrea, being in tropics, is well situated to harvest solar energy to improve its power supply status. Although several solar energy projects have been initiated, very small has been done in the country. Therefore, this research paper aims to evaluate and investigate the regional solar energy potential (SEP) in Eritrea using remote sensing data and ArcGIS applications. The digital elevation model (DEM) data was adopted to estimate the SEP and suitability of energy in the country. In addition, areal solar radiation method is applied in ArcGIS 9.3 to extract the SEP and to evaluate suitability of this energy for the development of photovoltaics (PVs) power. The results revealed that approximately 69.03%, and 30.96% of the country was excellent and highly suitable to harness SEP, respectively, and only about 0.004% was considered as unsuitable. Therefore, this research may be useful as reference for future study and to motivate the country to improve its power supply using this alternative energy.