Examining the Climatology of Shortwave Radiation in the Northeastern United States

As demand for renewable energy grows, so does the need for an improved understanding of renewable energy sources. Paradoxically, the climate change mitigation strategy of fossil fuel divestment is in itself subject to shifts in weather patterns resulting from climate change. This is particularly tru...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of applied meteorology and climatology Vol. 56; no. 10; pp. 2869 - 2881
Main Authors Hanrahan, Janel, Maynard, Alexandria, Murphy, Sarah Y., Zercher, Colton, Fitzpatrick, Allison
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Boston American Meteorological Society 01.10.2017
Subjects
Alternative energy sources
Atmospheric sciences
Climate change
Climate change mitigation
Climatology
Cloud cover
Daily temperature range
Daily temperatures
Divestments
Energy resources
Environmental management
Fossil fuels
Greenhouse gases
Identification
Mitigation
Power plants
Precipitation
Radiation
Radiation data
Regression models
Renewable energy
Renewable energy sources
Renewable resources
Resource management
Short wave radiation
Solar energy
Solar farms
Solar power
Statistical analysis
Statistical methods
Trends
Weather patterns
Vermont
United States > US
Northeastern states
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Summary:As demand for renewable energy grows, so does the need for an improved understanding of renewable energy sources. Paradoxically, the climate change mitigation strategy of fossil fuel divestment is in itself subject to shifts in weather patterns resulting from climate change. This is particularly true with solar power, which depends on local cloud cover. However, because observed shortwave radiation data usually span a decade or less, persistent long-term trends may not be identified. A simple linear regression model is created here using diurnal temperature range (DTR) during 2002–15 as a predictor variable to estimate long-term shortwave radiation (SR) values in the northeastern United States. Using an extended DTR dataset, SR values are computed for 1956–2015. Statistically significant decreases in shortwave radiation are identified that are dominated by changes during the summer months. Because this coincides with the season of greatest insolation and the highest potential for energy production, financial implications may be large for the solar energy industry if such trends persist into the future.
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ISSN:1558-8424
1558-8432
DOI:10.1175/JAMC-D-16-0420.1