SOLIS—A Novel Decision Support Tool for the Assessment of Solar Radiation in ArcGIS

Abstract

Abstract:The global Sustainable Development Goals influence the implementation of energy development strategies worldwide. However, in order to support local stakeholders in sustainable energy development strategies and climate change adaptation plans and the implementation of policies, there is a need to equip local decision makers with tools enabling the assessment of sustainable energy investments. In order to do so, the aim of this study is to create a novel tool for the assessment of solar radiation (SOLIS) in ArcGIS. The SOLIS tool builds on the existing ArcGIS algorithm by including input data conversion and post-processing of the results. This should expand the group of potential users of solar radiation analyses. The self-filtering tool excludes surfaces that are not suitable for solar energy investments due to geometrical reasons. The reduction of the size of the output data is positive for technical reasons (speed of the calculation and occupied storage place) and for cognitive reasons (reduction of the number of objects necessary to analyse by the user). The SOLIS tool limits the requirement for users to insert three-dimensional (3D) models of roofs (with any geometry) and select solar radiation calculation periods. The highlight of this research is to develop the decision support tool for the assessment of solar radiation, which would reduce the requirements for potential users, in order to promote indicator-based assessments among non-Geographical Information Systems (GIS) specialists.

Development of a decision support system at the stages of pre‐design studies and design of irrigation systems based on IDEFo functional modelling methodology*

“…In this aspect, agriculture is no exception (Borozenets and Tsysar, 2013; Udias et al, 2018). Thus, information and communication technologies have found application, in particular, in the field of agriculture (Chimonyo et al 2016; Graetskaya et al 2018), ecology (Pulsani, 2017; Anandhi et al 2018; Kazak and Świaçder, 2018), forestry management (Khanina et al 2009; Sakellariou et al, 2017; Kašpar et al, 2018; Kazak et al 2018) and water resources (Pulido‐Velazquez et al, 2016; Cavazza et al, 2018; Neilsen et al, 2018). For example, the Agrophysical Research Institute has been conducting studies on development of the theoretical and methodological foundations for constructing a ‘single computerized technological space in the field of agronomy’ for many years, and there is experience in the creation and operation of various agrotechnological solutions with help of DSS (Yakushev, 2007).…”

A Customized Decision Support System for Renewable Energy Application by Housing Association

“…In order to create an environmental management model in relation to solar energy management, this work relied on the existing decision support tool to assess the solar potential-SOLIS, which is available online in the form of the ArcGIS tool [45]. The SOLIS was made in the ArcGIS program with the help of the visual model Builder geoprocessing editor.…”

Decision support systems for a sustainable management of the indoor and built environment

“…Examples of decision making at the neighbourhood level could be the answer to the question on where to locate bus stops in order to maximise the number of people living within an acceptable distance to public transport infrastructures 7 or on which roofs solar panels should be located in order to maximise benefits of renewable energy investments. 8 The local management question could be linked not only to artificial elements but also to green areas. For instance, which location is the most suitable to locate green infrastructure solutions in order to deal with the problem of rainwater gathering?…”

“…This allows decision makers to understand the investigated phenomena better, being supported in a visual manner. These studies present the options of using existing software packages in order to construct one’s own decision support model, 1,7 develop new indicators 12 or conceptual models 8 that can be incorporated into DSS; contain original codes enabling a more effective data processing; 9 and propose interactive dashboards that combine geospatial information with indicator-based analyses in order to obtain a more holistic view of the problem. 10…”