Satellite-derived solar resource maps for Brazil under SWERA project

The SWERA project is an international project financed by GEF/UNEP which aims at providing a consistent and easily accessible database to foster the insertion of renewable energies on the energy matrix of selected pilot countries. In Brazil, the project is now at the stage of formatting information, validating of solar and wind resource assessment models, and ancillary GIS data integration. Solar energy resource maps in Brazil were generated using the satellite radiation model BRASIL-SR and the NREL’s CSR (climatological solar radiation) model. This paper describes the methodology used to produce the solar maps using the BRASIL-SR radiation model and discusses the seasonal and yearly means of daily solar irradiation maps obtained for 1995–2002 period.