Solar Roof Potential Analysis Case Study: Test Area in South of Germany

As climate change progresses, enhancing the utilization of renewable energy sources has to become imperative, with photovoltaic (PV) systems representing one of the most cost-effective solutions. The solar rooftop potential is essential for grid operators to plan further grid improvements due to more decentralized feed in of electricity. The use of LiDAR data to generate 3D building models is already state of the art in commercial tools for solar potential analysis. The goal of this study is to develop an open source approach for identifying suitable roof areas for PV installation and quantifying their solar potential. The approach focuses only on solar irradiance on horizontal surfaces to avoid complex models for inclined, utilizing a horizontal step model to approximate roof geometries. The resulting map illustrate daily sunshine hours for each square meter of roof area with economic evaluations based on feed-in compensation rates of electricity. Roof sections receiving at least four hours of sunlight are classified suitable for PV deployment. Comparative analysis with satellite imagery shows strong correlation, indicating that the developed open source code effectively identifies viable areas for PV installation and provides a reliable estimate of actual solar rooftop potential.