Solar atlas for Germany shows which roofs are suitable for photovoltaics
Anyone who owns a building can now check a new solar atlas to see how much output can be expected from photovoltaics on the roof.
Bremen's Weser Stadium (bottom center) has good performance potential. The roof and façade of the stadium have been fitted with solar modules since 2008.
(Image: DLR)
Which building roofs are suitable for solar systems? What output is possible with solar systems at certain locations? Where are solar systems installed? A new atlas, which the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt, DLR) has now put online, is intended to help answer such questions. According to the center, it has processed current aerial images and geo-base data using machine learning methods. This has enabled it to determine solar energy potential for the entire stock of around 20 million buildings. The individual buildings are clearly marked according to their potential at the corresponding zoom level.
Scientists from the DLR's Earth Observation Center (EOC) have evaluated and combined several terabytes of data for this EO Solar project. This includes digital, distortion-free aerial images with a resolution of 20 centimeters as well as high-resolution surface models with a resolution of one meter, which are provided by the Federal Agency for Cartography and Geodesy, explains DLR.
Model takes shading into account
EO Solar does not use building models, but digital surface models of the terrain, such as those generated with the help of aircraft and satellites. These models automatically consider shading from trees and the surrounding terrain. The method can also be extended to countries that do not have building models, writes the DLR. The solar energy potential of open spaces can also be calculated in this way and considered in planning.
"To describe the current expansion potential for solar energy, we calculate the possible electrical output based on the hours of sunshine, the radiation intensity, the orientation of the roof surfaces and the shading by neighboring buildings or vegetation", explains Dr. Annekatrin Metz-Marconcini, who heads the EO Solar project. DLR has developed a process that uses artificial intelligence. "This allows us to identify roofs with installed solar panels worldwide from high-resolution remote sensing data. In Germany, we have included the market master data register. The database contains all registered solar installations daily."
The solar atlas provides political decision-makers and planners with a basis for specifically promoting the expansion of solar installations, for example, explains the DLR. For data protection reasons, it is not possible to map the solar expansion for individual buildings on a publicly available website. The Solar Atlas therefore shows solar expansion at municipal, district, or federal state level.
(anw)