A research team from Slovenia’s University of Ljubljana has proposed a new methodology for global climate classification whose primary aim is to evaluate solar project performance.
The system, presented in the paper Methodology of Köppen-Geiger-Photovoltaic climate classification and implications to worldwide mapping of PV system performance, is based on the most widely used climate classification system – the Köppen-Geiger map – and divides the globe into 12 zones with regard to temperature, precipitation and irradiation.
The Köppen-Geiger-Photovoltaic (KGPV) map is said to be the first global climate classification scheme used to analyse the long-term performance and reliability of PV modules and to compensate for a lack of standardization in climate zones. “The usefulness of the KGPV scheme can be proved by comparing the climate zones with relevant PV indicators such as the energy yield, performance ratio or module operating temperature,” the researchers wrote.
The 12 climate zones and four PV indicators examined by the Ljubljana team – solar irradiance, weather data, local conditions and PV panel data – are projected towards the year 2100 under the climate change projections derived from the “SSP5-8.5” climate change scenario created by the Institut Pierre Simon Laplace, a group of nine laboratories conducting research into climate science.