MEASUREMENT OF SOLAR RADIATION IN ANKARA, TURKEY

The solar energy potential of Ankara, Turkey, (39.89 degrees N, 32.78 degrees E) has been investigated using the measurements of global and beam radiation over the period May 2008 to May 2009. Surface air temperature was also measured and variation in clearness index evaluated over this period. Global and beam radiations have been analyzed using hourly, daily and monthly averages obtained from 1-minute averages of recorded data. Results show that annual average daily global and beam radiations were 17.04 and 15.72 MJ/m(2)/day, respectively, for this period. The results are compared with the data available for several other cities in Turkey. The study shows that Ankara has a large solar potential. The consistency of these data with that from the State Meteorological Service (SMS) weather station in Ankara was analyzed. Significant differences between these 2 stations were found and are attributed to measurement error at the SMS station. New radiation-measurement stations should be established to create a better national radiation database for Turkey.