Solar radiation estimate in northeast of Nigeria

Description

Abstract

Solar radiation estimate in northeast of Nigeria. Sky condition evaluation in the north-east geo-political zone of Nigeria has been carried out in this paper. Twenty years (2000-2020) data of daily global solar radiation and monthly average hours of bright sunshine are sourced from National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and Nigeria Meteorological Agency (NIMET), respectively. The zone consists of six states. Total average global solar radiation on a horizontal surface of 69.05 kWhrm-2day-1 is estimated for the zone. Monthly average clearness index ranges from 0.42– 0.69. This depicts that cloudy sky condition is prevalent in north-east of Nigeria. Monthly bright sunshine hours of the geo-political zone are estimate at 94.16 hrs.  Five (5) seasonal classification periods are recorded in Bauchi, Damaturu and Yola. In Gombe and Maidugri, six seasonal classification periods were observed. While in Jalingo, seven seasonal periods were identified. The coefficient of determination estimated for the Angstrom-Page equation for the study locations were high. Thus, the regression coefficient determined for the cities and the zone can be used to determine monthly global solar radiation for locations with similar meteorological characteristics..