The Negev Radiation Survey

We present a summary of the principal findings in an ongoing, multiyear survey of the solar radiation resource and associated meteorological parameters in Israel's Negev Desert. The summary addresses calibration and monitoring issues, the format in which the annual results are published, availability of the data, and some of the more interesting results observed to date. In particular we quantify the large variability observed in the direct beam radiation across neighboring sites. The year-to-year variation in this radiation component is also considerable. The variation in the global horizontal radiation is much smaller. Two practical examples are given of uses to which the Negev Radiation Survey has been put: Site selection for a proposed 500 MW solar-thermal power plant; and an estimation of the potential photovoltaic value of rooftops in the major cities.