Abstract:
Solar power has been rapidly growing in in New Zealand with total installed capacity increasing from just 5 MW in August 2013 to more than 35 MW in March 2016. Most of the growth has taken place in the residential sector. Auck- land Council has a goal of powering the equivalent of 176 565 homes by solar photovoltaics by 2040. To assess what this might translate to in terms of the number and size of solar installations we rst need to assess the solar energy potential on Auckland rooftops. In this study we have used LiDAR data to develop a digital surface model of the city, including topography, buildings and trees. With this model a solar radiation tool has been used to calculate the annual solar radiation on each square meter of roof area, taking into account latitude, time of year, time of day, average climatic conditions, surface orienta- tion and slope, and shading from nearby buildings and trees. The results so far indicate that some suburbs are better suited for solar power deployment than others, due to the shape and orientation of roofs, and the absence of shading by nearby objects.