In this study, a new model was developed to estimate solar radiation using the genetic algorithm method in the MATLAB program. When the literature was reviewed, it is observed that there are a lot of different methods used to estimate solar radiation. In the literature review, it was seen that the genetic algorithm approach was not used in solar radiation estimation before. In this study, the coefficients of the Angstrom equation were calculated through a genetic algorithm by using the 5-year solar radiation data of Adana province, and accordingly, a new model was developed. The suggested model was compared to various models published in the literature for determining the solar radiation density of the given region. It was evaluated that the new developed model using a genetic algorithm has acceptable performance for estimating solar radiation.

Renewable energy sources such as solar energy have great potential to alleviate some of the negative environmental problems, including climate change caused by intensive fossil fuel use. Solar energy will play an important part of future energy systems because of its rapid installation, technology development and lowering costs. In order to use solar radiation intensity in a wide range in the most efficient way, the plants must either be at an optimum angle in the area where they are installed or they should be designed with moving systems in such a way that they close almost all of the rays coming from the sun. In this study, performance and efficiency comparison of solar tracking systems and fixed designed systems based on real field conditions has been made. In this way, price-performance ratios can be determined clearly and it will be easier to decide on the types of power plants to be built. While solar tracking systems move according to the most efficient position, they can get from the sun through radiation sensors, they are designed with elements such as PLCs using multi-year solar data that operate with open loop and based on meteorology data. In this study, three different power plant types designed as 1-axis, 2-axis and fixed angle were controlled as open loop with PLC software and production differences between power plants were evaluated for 1 year. According to this research we have done, it has been concluded that 2-axis tracking systems produce approximately 32% more energy annually than a fixed angle system, with an annual efficiency rate of 23% higher than a 1-axis system.