Reliable solar-resource inputs are essential for photovoltaic (PV) and hybrid-system design, but temporal matching and measurement traceability require scrutiny where reference records are scarce. This study compares SM206-SOLAR ground observations, Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) Radiation Service v4.6 estimates and Linke-model irradiance for Dosso, Niger, in May and August 2021. The CAMS v4.6 dataset documents the coordinates, altitude, UTC intervals and irradiation units. Ground records at nominal local observation times were paired with centered 30-minute CAMS means constructed from adjacent 15-minute intervals. Requiring both intervals to have Reliability = 1 retained 339 and 320 pairs, respectively, distributed over 31 dates in each month. Statistics were calculated across daily means formed from identical retained times in the two series. Mean ground and CAMS irradiances were 881.31 and 627.71 W m-2 in May, and 696.29 and 530.66 W m-2 in August. Ground-minus-CAMS mean differences were +253.59 W m-2 (+40.40%) and +165.64 W m-2 (+31.21%); root-mean-square differences were 268.28 and 190.73 W m-2, with correlations of 0.620 and 0.898. Sensitivity checks using preceding or following intervals, or retaining lower-reliability intervals, did not remove the positive mean differences. Six-point Linke comparisons on 1 May and 1 August gave root-mean-square differences of 347.70 and 278.76 W m-2. The CAMS product identity and temporal aggregation are explicitly documented, but undocumented sensor calibration and orientation, instantaneous-versus-interval sampling and limited clear-sky characterization prevent ranking the sources by accuracy. The results support qualification of irradiance inputs; they do not quantify PV-yield or system-sizing errors.
| Published in | International Journal of Energy and Power Engineering (Volume 15, Issue 5) |
| DOI | 10.11648/j.ijepe.20261505.12 |
| Page(s) | 139-147 |
| Creative Commons |
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited. |
| Copyright |
Copyright © The Author(s), 2026. Published by Science Publishing Group |
Solar Resource Assessment, Photovoltaic System Design, CAMS Radiation Service, Ground Observation, Linke Turbidity, Irradiance Uncertainty, Sahel
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APA Style
Hamidine, M., Ali, A. B., Saley, H. A., Boukar, M. (2026). Cross-Comparison of Ground Observations, CAMS Estimates, and Linke-Model Irradiance for Photovoltaic System Design in Sahelian Niger. International Journal of Energy and Power Engineering, 15(5), 139-147. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijepe.20261505.12
ACS Style
Hamidine, M.; Ali, A. B.; Saley, H. A.; Boukar, M. Cross-Comparison of Ground Observations, CAMS Estimates, and Linke-Model Irradiance for Photovoltaic System Design in Sahelian Niger. Int. J. Energy Power Eng. 2026, 15(5), 139-147. doi: 10.11648/j.ijepe.20261505.12
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Download@article{10.11648/j.ijepe.20261505.12,
author = {Mahamadou Hamidine and Aminou Baare Ali and Hamidou Arouna Saley and Makinta Boukar},
title = {Cross-Comparison of Ground Observations, CAMS Estimates, and Linke-Model Irradiance for Photovoltaic System Design in Sahelian Niger},
journal = {International Journal of Energy and Power Engineering},
volume = {15},
number = {5},
pages = {139-147},
doi = {10.11648/j.ijepe.20261505.12},
url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijepe.20261505.12},
eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijepe.20261505.12},
abstract = {Reliable solar-resource inputs are essential for photovoltaic (PV) and hybrid-system design, but temporal matching and measurement traceability require scrutiny where reference records are scarce. This study compares SM206-SOLAR ground observations, Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) Radiation Service v4.6 estimates and Linke-model irradiance for Dosso, Niger, in May and August 2021. The CAMS v4.6 dataset documents the coordinates, altitude, UTC intervals and irradiation units. Ground records at nominal local observation times were paired with centered 30-minute CAMS means constructed from adjacent 15-minute intervals. Requiring both intervals to have Reliability = 1 retained 339 and 320 pairs, respectively, distributed over 31 dates in each month. Statistics were calculated across daily means formed from identical retained times in the two series. Mean ground and CAMS irradiances were 881.31 and 627.71 W m-2 in May, and 696.29 and 530.66 W m-2 in August. Ground-minus-CAMS mean differences were +253.59 W m-2 (+40.40%) and +165.64 W m-2 (+31.21%); root-mean-square differences were 268.28 and 190.73 W m-2, with correlations of 0.620 and 0.898. Sensitivity checks using preceding or following intervals, or retaining lower-reliability intervals, did not remove the positive mean differences. Six-point Linke comparisons on 1 May and 1 August gave root-mean-square differences of 347.70 and 278.76 W m-2. The CAMS product identity and temporal aggregation are explicitly documented, but undocumented sensor calibration and orientation, instantaneous-versus-interval sampling and limited clear-sky characterization prevent ranking the sources by accuracy. The results support qualification of irradiance inputs; they do not quantify PV-yield or system-sizing errors.},
year = {2026}
}
TY - JOUR T1 - Cross-Comparison of Ground Observations, CAMS Estimates, and Linke-Model Irradiance for Photovoltaic System Design in Sahelian Niger AU - Mahamadou Hamidine AU - Aminou Baare Ali AU - Hamidou Arouna Saley AU - Makinta Boukar Y1 - 2026/10/14 PY - 2026 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijepe.20261505.12 DO - 10.11648/j.ijepe.20261505.12 T2 - International Journal of Energy and Power Engineering JF - International Journal of Energy and Power Engineering JO - International Journal of Energy and Power Engineering SP - 139 EP - 147 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2326-960X UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijepe.20261505.12 AB - Reliable solar-resource inputs are essential for photovoltaic (PV) and hybrid-system design, but temporal matching and measurement traceability require scrutiny where reference records are scarce. This study compares SM206-SOLAR ground observations, Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) Radiation Service v4.6 estimates and Linke-model irradiance for Dosso, Niger, in May and August 2021. The CAMS v4.6 dataset documents the coordinates, altitude, UTC intervals and irradiation units. Ground records at nominal local observation times were paired with centered 30-minute CAMS means constructed from adjacent 15-minute intervals. Requiring both intervals to have Reliability = 1 retained 339 and 320 pairs, respectively, distributed over 31 dates in each month. Statistics were calculated across daily means formed from identical retained times in the two series. Mean ground and CAMS irradiances were 881.31 and 627.71 W m-2 in May, and 696.29 and 530.66 W m-2 in August. Ground-minus-CAMS mean differences were +253.59 W m-2 (+40.40%) and +165.64 W m-2 (+31.21%); root-mean-square differences were 268.28 and 190.73 W m-2, with correlations of 0.620 and 0.898. Sensitivity checks using preceding or following intervals, or retaining lower-reliability intervals, did not remove the positive mean differences. Six-point Linke comparisons on 1 May and 1 August gave root-mean-square differences of 347.70 and 278.76 W m-2. The CAMS product identity and temporal aggregation are explicitly documented, but undocumented sensor calibration and orientation, instantaneous-versus-interval sampling and limited clear-sky characterization prevent ranking the sources by accuracy. The results support qualification of irradiance inputs; they do not quantify PV-yield or system-sizing errors. VL - 15 IS - 5 ER -
Department of Physics, Dan Dicko Dankoulodo University of Maradi, Maradi, Niger
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