SELECTION OF OPTIMUM SITES FOR SOLAR ENERGY FARMS IN

SANTA IGNACIA USING A GIS-BASED SOLAR RADIATION MODEL

A Thesis Study
Presented to the Faculty of the Department of Geodetic Engineering
College of Engineering and Technology, Tarlac Agricultural
University

In Partial Fulfilment
Of the Requirements for the Degree
Bachelor of Science in Geodetic Engineering

By
John Ray M. Castro
Nichol T. Cordero
2020
SELECTION OF OPTIMUM SITES FOR SOLAR ENERGY FARMS IN
SANTA IGNACIA USING A GIS-BASED SOLAR RADIATION MODEL

By

John Ray M. Castro

Nichol T. Cordero

Republic of the Philippines

TARLAC AGRICULTURAL UNIVERSITY
Camiling, Tarlac
 ii

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

This piece of work could not have been accomplished without the unselfish

and openhearted people who wholeheartedly guided, encouraged, motivated,

inspired and supported the authors in their journeys and struggles.

The authors would like to thank their parents, Mr. and Mrs. Raymundo and

Candia Castro, and Mr. and Mrs. Restituto, and Filipina Cordero. For their moral

support, love, and encouragement. Thank you for believing that the authors can

continue to pursue their dreams.

To Engr. Gloria Corpuz, Research Adviser, for her assistance, advices, and

encouragement.

To June Bhernard Cordero and Archie Cordero, for their encouragement and

financial support.

To Mr. Domingo Desear and most especially to Francisca A. Tabag who gave

love, guidance, understanding, financial support that helped the fulfillment of one

of their dreams, to finish his degree.

To the faculty staff of the Department of Geodetic Engineering. For guiding

them throughout their college days.

To all their friends and relatives, for always believing in them and for the

love and encouragement.

 iii

To Ms. Emilour G. Castro, for her support, encouragement, and for giving

pieces of advice to finish their study.

Most of all to GOD for guidance and for always lifting him up and for always

giving strength whenever he’s feeling down and for unconditional love thank you.
 iv

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

The first author, John Ray Maregmen Castro, was born on April 8, 1998 in

Caanamongan Santa Ignacia Tarlac, as the eldest of Raymundo Ragos Castro and

Candida Maregmen Castro.

He started studying at the age of four, took up his primary education at

Caanamongan Elementary School, and finishes his secondary education at

Caanamongan High School. Now He’s currently studying at Tarlac Agricultural

University, a 5th year of student taking up Bachelor of Science in Geodetic

Engineering.

His family is his Inspiration. They always give him directives to face

something, gave him the spirit to look ahead and always reminds him to be

optimistic towards reaching his dreams. They always say that he’s the best, his

family are his spirit.

The second author, Nichol T. Cordero, was born on the 8th day of November

1998 at Barangay Sinait Tarlac city. He is the third son of the three children of Mr.

Restituto H. Cordero and Mrs. Filipina T. Cordero. He has two brothers namely:

June Bhernard T. Cordero and Archie T. Cordero.

He graduated elementary at Barangay Sinait Elementary School. As a

deserving student.

He graduated high school at Tarlac National High School (TNHS).

 v

At present, he’s enrolled at Tarlac Agricultural University (TAU), a senior

taking up Bachelor of Sciences in Geodetic Engineering.

 vi

THESIS ABSTRACT

Title: SELECTION OF OPTIMUM SITES FOR SOLAR ENERGY

FARMS IN SANTA IGNACIA USING A GIS-BASED SOLAR
RADIATION MODEL

Authors: John Ray M. Castro and Nichol T. Cordero

Degree: Bachelor of Science in Geodetic Engineering

Institution: College of Engineering and Technology, Tarlac Agricultural

University, Camiling Tarlac.

Adviser: Engr. Gloria Corpuz

Abstract:
The Philippines is known to be one of the most optimal locations in the world
for solar energy production. Because of its location near the equator, the country is
considered to have a high potential for solar energy. However, to determine the best
site to establish solar energy farm as a source of power, the reliable information of
solar radiation in the area is necessary. There are several factors to be considered
such as location, time, and effects of terrain. Aside from this factors, several factors
must be considered to determine the optimum sites for establishing solar energy
farms. These include physical, socio-economic, and constraint factors. In the study,
solar energy resource assessment and site suitability analyses were conducted to
select the best areas for establishing solar energy farms in the Municipality of Santa
Ignacia. The resource assessment was done using a Geographic Information System
(GIS)-based solar radiation model and Shuttle radar topography mission (SRTM-1)
Digital Elevation Model (DEM) with 30m resolution as input. For the site suitability
 vii

analysis, physical, socioeconomic, and constraint criteria were identified. The

adopted weights from different studies and articles were used to determine the
weights of each criterion relative to the goal which is finding the best site for a solar
energy farm. The criteria were then standardized. Through the study, a total land
area of approximately 14,532 hectares with high suitability index ideal for solar
energy farms in the province of Santa Ignacia was identified.
 viii

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page

Title Page…………………………………………………………………………...i

Acknowledgment………………………………………………………………….ii

Biographical Sketch……………………………………………………………….iv

Abstract………………………………………………………………………...….vi

Table of Contents…………………………………………...…………………...viii

CHAPTER

I. INTRODUCTION....................................................................................1

Background of the Study……………………………………………1

Research Locale……………………………………………..............4

Statement of the Problem…………………………………………...5

Objective of the Study………………………………………............6

Significance of the Study……………………………………............7

Scope and Delimitation of the Study………………………………..7

Definition of Terms…………………………………………………8
 ix

II. RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES…………....……………9

Literature…………………………………………………………….9

Studies……………………………………………………………..13

III. METHODS AND PROCEDURES....................................................19

Research Methodology…………………………………………….19

Sources of Data…………………………………….………………19

Data Gathering Procedure……………………………………….....20

Treatment of Data…………………………………………....…….22

IV. PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND

INTERPRETATION OF DATA...................................................27

V. SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND

RECOMMENDATION………………………………………..…38

Summary…………………………………………………………...38

Conclusion…………………………………………………………40

Recommendation…………………………………………………..41

BIBLIOGRAPHY......................................................................................42
 x

LIST OF TABLES

Tables Page

1 The Sources of Data of the Study 19

2 Adopt from Saaty’s Nine-Point Weighting Scale 25

3 Land use and Land cover classes and related areas. 32

4 Standardized of Solar radiation, Orientation and Topography 33

Attributes.

5 Standardized Economic Criteria Attributes. 33

6 Areas of Potential Sites for Solar Farms. 36

 xi

LIST OF FIGURES

Figures Page

1 Map of the Municipality of Santa Ignacia. 4

2 Conceptual chart for the applied methodology. 22

3 Annual Average of Solar Radiation in Santa Ignacia, Tarlac. 27

4 Orientation Map of Santa Ignacia, Tarlac. 28

5 Topographic map of Santa Ignacia, Tarlac. 29

6a Proximity to the Main Roads of Santa Ignacia. 30

6b Proximity to the municipal town of Santa Ignacia. 30

7a Land use and land cover result of Supervised 31

Classification of LANDSAT-8

7b Constraints map derived from the land use and land cover. 32

8 Suitability Index Map Result of the 35

Weighted Overlay Model.

9 Location of the selected potential sites for Solar Farms in 36

Santa Ignacia, Tarlac.

 1

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

Like many countries in South East Asia, the Philippines faces twin

challenges of population growth and rising energy demand. According to Manila

Electric Corporation, the continuing yellow and red alert in the Luzon area being

experienced today may eventually lead to a serious power supply shortage in the

next few years. One of the problems in the Philippines that both the citizens and the

government faces is the ever going demand and price of electricity which leads to

rolling blackouts and outages that go to the different cities and towns. This problem

affects the government in their budget allocation on which instead of using the

money for foreign trade and other bigger problems, it would go straight in trying to

keep electricity in the Philippines (Colin Blain, 2016). Currently, conventional fossil

fuels such as oil and gas are the main source of energy in the Philippines. According

to the 2011 primary energy consumption of the Philippines, 31 % of the

consumption was met by oil, 20% by coal, and 22% by geothermal, 12% by

biomass, 6% by hydro and 1% by other renewable energy like wind, solar and

biofuel. Sustainability is very important it is meeting the needs of the present

without compromising the ability of the future generations to meet their needs, with

that being said sustainable energy should be given emphasis. Nowadays the use of

solar energy is quickly becoming popular around the world. The Philippines is a
 2

country located near the earth’s equator and also for being a tropical country, solar

energy as a power source has become widespread (Tovar-Pesador, et al., 2016).

Santa Ignacia is one of the municipality of the Province of Tarlac, which is

composed of 24 barangays and has a total land area of 14,607 hectares. The

municipality of Santa Ignacia is situated in the western part of the Province of Tarlac

and is bounded by Camiling in the north, Gerona and Paniqui in the east, Tarlac

town in the south and Mayantoc in the west. Electrical Services in the municipality

of Santa Ignacia came from Tarlac Electric Cooperative (TARELCO) which

depends solely on the National Power Corporation (NAPOCOR). At present, there

are 8,308 total households in the whole locality and 52.77% in the household served

by the TARELCO. The least server barangays are Timmaguab, Sta. Ines Centro and

Caanamongan. The only Barangay still unserved is San Sotero.of the 152 sitios or

puroks. (“Philippines: Santa Ignacia Municipality profile,”2020).

The best solution to the high demand price for electricity in Santa Ignacia is

to install solar panels in certain areas in the municipality. The solar photovoltaic

(PV) convert sunlight directly to clean electricity using solar panels and give the

solar energy to generate enough energy to keep the blackouts from occurring. They

work any time the sun is shining. The electricity is used to provide power to homes,

benefits the environment and would help the residence reduces the amount of money

need to pay for electricity.

 3

However, the solar radiation received on the earth’s atmosphere is changing

due to the following factors such as the location, time, terrain and the effect of the

atmosphere and considering the physical and socioeconomic criteria. Shuttle radar

topography mission (SRTM-1) model digital elevation model (DEM) is used to

model the solar radiation and process in geographic information system (GIS) to

give information for a suitable site to develop a solar photovoltaic (PV) Farm.
 4

Research Locale

The municipality of Santa Ignacia is situated in the western part of the

Province of Tarlac and is bounded by Camiling in the north, Gerona, and Paniqui in

the east, Tarlac town in the south and Mayantoc in the west. Santa Ignacia is 25

kilometers northwest of the capital town of Tarlac and has a total land area of 14,607

hectares.

Figure 1. Map of the Municipality of Santa Ignacia.

 5

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The purpose of this study is for the selection of optimum sites for solar energy

farms in Santa Ignacia using a GIS-based solar radiation model. Specifically, this

study aims to answer the following question:

1. What is the available solar energy potential resource in municipality of the

Santa Ignacia?

2. Where are the suitable sites for developing solar photovoltaic farms in

Santa Ignacia in terms of:

2.1 Physical Criteria

a. Orientation

b. Topography

c. Land use and Land cover

2.2 Socioeconomic Criteria

a. Proximity to the main roads

b. Proximity to the municipal town

3. How much total solar power may be potentially generated in the suitable

sites in Santa Ignacia?

 6

OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

The objective of this study is to select optimum sites for solar energy farms

in Santa Ignacia using a GIS-based solar radiation model. Specifically, this study

aims to:

1. To determine the available solar energy potential resource in the

municipality of the Santa Ignacia.

2. To determine the suitable sites for developing solar photovoltaic farms in

Santa Ignacia in terms of:

2.1 Physical Criteria

a. Orientation

b. Topography

c. Land use and Land cover

2.2 Socioeconomic Criteria

a. Proximity to the main roads

b. Proximity to the municipal town

3. To determine the total solar power that may be potentially generated in the

suitable sites in Santa Ignacia?

 7

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The importance of the study is to provide reliable information to the

following:

National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP). Finding a suitable site for

photovoltaic farms, this study will help them to better operate and expand the

electricity delivery facilities in the municipality of Santa Ignacia.

Department of Energy (Philippines). The solar radiation map is beneficial to the

Department of Energy. The information gathered should serve them as the basis for

a suitable site for solar photovoltaic farm.

Tarlac Electric Cooperative (TARELCO) and Municipality of Santa Ignacia.

They will have an alternate source of energy in a long term use.

Future Researchers. This study will serve as a reference to future studies related

to solar radiation and site suitability.

SCOPE AND DELIMITATION OF THE STUDY

The study focused on finding a suitable site for solar photovoltaic (PV) farm

in Santa Ignacia by considering the following criteria; physical, and socioeconomic.

The main input for the solar energy resource assessment using the SRTM-1 digital

elevation model with 30 meters spatial resolution and process using ESRI ArcGIS

to analyse the solar radiation model. Secondary data necessary to perform the site

suitability analysis were gathered from satellite images from LANDSAT 8.

 8

DEFINITION OF TERMS

For the better understanding of the study the following terms are defined in

the context of this research:

Solar energy. Is the energy converted from the sun's radiation.

Radiation. Is the heat from the sun that enters the earth’s atmosphere.

Solar photovoltaic. Is the instrument used to convert solar radiation to usable

energy.

Geographic Information System (GIS). Is a computer system for analyzing and

displaying geospatial data the acronym GIS sometimes used for geographical

information system science or geospatial information studies to refer to the

academic discipline or career of working with geographic information system.

 CHAPTER II

RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

This chapter presents the related literature and studies which provided

direction to the present study and enriched the researchers’ background for the

discussion of the findings on the specific problems.

Related literature

Solar energy or solar power is processed from capturing the energy from the

Sun and converting it into electricity. We can then use that electricity to light up our

homes, streets, and businesses, and power our machines as well. The Sun’s energy

is in the form of solar radiation and the Solar radiation makes the production of solar

electricity possible (market business news).

Nathan S. Lewis and Daniel G. Nocera, (2016) Stated that Solar energy is

one of the renewable energy resources and by far the largest exploitable resource,

providing more energy in 1 hour to the earth than all of the energy consumed by

humans in an entire year.

Richard Bransob British (2016) business magnate, investor, author, and

philanthropist said that he has been very passionate about renewable energy for

many years, particularly solar energy and it is capable to bring abundant clean,

sustainable energy to millions around the globe.

 10

Radiation model is used for predicting of average daily radiation beam. Solar

radiation model acknowledge the local solar-radiation is essential for the proper

design of building energy systems, solar energy systems and a good evaluation of

the thermal environment within buildings. It is important in designing systems

employing solar energy (L.T. Wong, W.K. Chow, 2001).

Solar power is a low carbon and one of the few renewable Resources with

both technological and scalable maturity to meet the increasing demand for

electricity worldwide. Pathway for solar Photovoltaic This study tells that solar

power technologies, solar photovoltaics (PV) are the most widely Use and deployed,

providing 0.87% of the world's electricity in 2013 and sustaining a compound

annual growth rate in cumulative installed capacity of 43% since 2000 The

information gathered serves as guide and framework for classifying Photovoltaic

technologies and focus on the Future research and Development for the efficiency,

materials use, and manufacturing complexity and cost (Joel Jean, Patrick R Brown,

Robert L Jaffe, Tonio Buonassisi, Vladimir Bulovie, 2015).

Site selection Mevlut Uyan (2013) entitled GIS-based solar farms site

selection using analytic hierarchy process (AHP) in Karapinar region,

Konya/Turkey he stated that solar energy is a clean source of energy and has a low

percentage impact in the environment than other sources of energy. The investment

for solar energy have been increase rapid this recent year. The Site selection for

solar farms is a critical issue for large investments because of quality of terrain, local
 11

weathering factors, proximity to high transmission capacity lines, agricultural

facilities and environmental conservation issues. Multi criteria evaluation methods

are often used for different site selection studies. The purpose of this study was to

determine suitable site selection for solar farms by using GIS.

SB Sadati, M.Yazdani – Asrami (2010) the author worked on evaluation of

supplying ruler and residential area using Photovoltaic systems in I.R. Iran. They

have commented on use of sun’s energy has the biggest energy supplies and is clean

and convenient source which can be utilize by using appropriate technologies. The

total solar radiation received by different regions throughout the year the average

energy consumption required effect of temperature voltage, current curve

characteristics have been consider for evolving a photo voltaic system to meet the

domestics required, economic analysis has been made for justification of the use age

of photovoltaic system.

GIS and Site Suitability for Sustainable Residential Communities Solar

radiation data are required by solar engineers, architects, agriculturists and

hydrologists for many applications such as solar heating, cooking, drying and

interior illumination of buildings in order to estimate the solar radiation around the

world. The main objective of this study is to review the global solar radiation models

available in the literature. There are several formula which relate global radiation to

other climatic parameters such as sunshine hours, relative humidity and maximum

temperature (USA 2013).

 12

Suitability Evaluation for Sustainable Distribution of Hospital Using Spatial

Information Technologies and AHP. The selection of the appropriate hospital site

requires consideration of multiple alternative solutions and evaluation factor. They

develop a Multi-Criteria Decision Support System process that combines

Geographical Information System (GIS) analysis with Analytical Hierarchy Process

and use this process to determine the optimum site for a new hospital in the Aswan

urban area they used a three main factors and seven sub-factors to determine the

location. The main factors are urban, environmental and economic factors. The

candidate sites are divided by best, good and unsuitable hospital areas (Asmaa

Haggag Ahmed, Abdel Monteleb M. Aly, Hatem Mahmoud, 2016).

A case study entitled GIS-based Site Suitability Analysis by Sayan

Mukhopadhaya (2016) this paper explains the usage of GIS and MCE techniques

for selection of most appropriate sites. Geographical Information System and Multi

Criteria Evaluation are the standard techniques used to examine the possible sites

for development in urbanization of an area. The most important issue for a

developing a city is the identification of proper locations for urban development.

Site suitability is a way for understanding the existing site locations and also the

elements that will help to decide the sites for a certain activity. Factors such as

connectivity of roads but away from highways, away from major residential areas

but not far from city, land use/land cover, land proximity and other geographical

information has been used for the analysis of the suitable site by measure the
 13

criterion of this factor the weight of each criterion is created. The weights and map

has been combined using ArcGIS tools and the final map was prepared and show

the suitable site.

Foreign Studies

GIS-based photovoltaic solar farms site selection using ELECTRE-TRI

Juan M Sánchez-Lozano, Carlos Henggeler Antunes, M Socorro García-

Cascales, Luis C Dias, (2014) entitled GIS-based photovoltaic solar farms site

selection using ELECTRE-TRI: Evaluating the case for Torre Pacheco, Murcia,

Southeast of Spain. The Region Of Murcia In southeast Spain has one of the highest

percentages of potential solar radiation in Spain, which puts it in an excellent

position to host electricity generation plants through photovoltaic solar systems,

commonly known as solar farms. This paper prepossessed the use of a Geographic

Information System (GIS) to identify the best plots suitable for installing

photovoltaic solar farms in the Region of Murcia.

Photovoltaic site suitability analysis using GIS-based spatial fuzzy multi-

criteria evaluation

This study aimed to develop the first geographical mapping models to locate

the most appropriate sites for different Photovoltaic technologies in Oman using

Multi-criteria evaluation. PV site suitability analysis using GIS-based spatial Fuzzy

multi-criteria evaluation. The multi-criteria evaluation was used to assess the land
 14

suitability for large PV farms implementation in Oman (Yassine Charabi and Adel

Gastli, 2010).

Photovoltaic Assessments

Solar radiation is the result of complex interaction of energy between the

atmosphere and surface. Marcel 6úri and Jaroslav Hofierka, (2004) entitled New

GIS-based Solar Radiation Model and Its Application to Photovoltaic Assessments

Stated that the regional and local scales, terrain (relief) is the major factor modifying

the distribution of radiation. Variability in elevation, surface inclination (slope) and

orientation (aspect) and shadows cast by terrain features create strong local

gradients. The spatial and temporal heterogeneity of incoming solar energy

determines the dynamics of many landscape processes example air and soil

temperature and moisture, snowmelt, photosynthesis and evapotranspiration with

direct impacts on human society. Accurate and spatially distributed solar radiation

data are desired for various applications.

Selection of Potential Sites for Solar Energy Farms Egypt using SRTM and

Multicriteria Analysis

Hala Adel Effat, (2013) entitled Selection of Potential Sites for Solar Energy

Farms in Ismailia Governorate, Egypt using SRTM and Multicriteria Analysis

Egypt is one of the best countries in the world for solar energy production. Solar

energy can provide a great opportunity for sustainable development and population

redistribution in its vast deserts. Mentioned that the objective of this paper is to
 15

identify optimum sites for constructing solar energy plants in Ismailia Governorate.

To achieve this objective, two interrelated steps have been applied in this research.

First, remote sensing including satellite data from SPOT-4 was used to derive land

use/land cover map of the study area. Also, Shuttle Radar Topography Mission

(SRTM) global solar radiation map for the study area. The selection of a suitable

site is based on a set of criteria mainly depending on the local conditions of its

surrounding environment.

The solar radiation in areas of complex topography

Jacobson (1999) Oliphant et al. (2003) entitled on the use of the digital

elevation model to estimate the solar radiation in areas of complex topography.

Solar radiation plays a major role in the energy exchange process between the

atmosphere and the Earth’s surface Topography is the most important factor in

determining the distribution of solar radiation at the surface.

J. Tovar-Pescador, D. Pozo-Vazquez, J. A. Ruiz-Arias, J. Batlles, G. Lopez

& J. L. Bosch (2006) in their study they mentioned that the use of the satellite data

and more recently of models based on technique GIS have contributed to solving

this difficult. The digital elevation model (DEM) is used to provide topographic

information for the estimation of solar radiation in an area of complex topography.

Other factors must also be taken into account to obtain better estimates related

studies.
 16

Local Studies

Pintor, Ben Hur, Sola, Eula Fae Teves, Justine, Inocencio, Loreal Camille

and Ma. Rosario Concepcion, (2015) Finding a site that meets the criteria set forth

by the different stakeholders is as important as finding one with high resource

potential. In their study entitled the Solar Energy Resource Assessment Using

R.SUN In GRASS GIS and Site Suitability Analysis Using AHP for Ground-

mounted Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Farm in the Central Luzon Region (Region 3),

Philippines tells that the solar radiation Enter In an area is necessary. Even the

radiation hitting the top of the earth's atmosphere is constant. The solar radiation

Enter In an area Is necessary Due to the flowing factor such as the location, Time,

terrain And the effect of the atmosphere. using the analytic hierarchy process (AHP)

It helps to determine the different weights of the different physical, environmental,

socio-economic, risk and limitation criteria And serve a basis to know the suitable

site for installation of the ground-mounted solar photovoltaic (PV).

Roger T. Sarmiento1, and Jupiter V. Casas (2015). In their study entitled Gis-

aided suitability assessment of mt. mayapay watershed in butuan city, agusan Del

Norte. This research explored the use of GIS in developing site suitability maps of

Mt. Mayapay for the three primary reforestation species namely Acacia mangium

Willd. Swietenia macrophylla King. And Spathodea campanulata Beauv. These site

suitability maps were overlaid to develop species suitability maps for economic and

environmental forestry purposes. The general area of study site was determined to
 17

be moderately suitable for the three selected species. For most of the site, the species

recommended for forest production purposes was Acacia mangium Wild. The

species recommended for forest protection purposes on the other hand was

Spathodea campanulata. This study suggest that through GIS, the species-site

suitability matching can be improved and to forestry planners to develop better land

use pattern and make reasonable decisions for forest land use. The site suitability

maps developed are useful to identify suitable areas.

Jim loui p.alburo, jose nestro m. gracia, pearl b. sanchez and pompe. Sta cruz

(2019). Application of analytic hierarchy process in generating land suitability index

for sugarcane in central Mindanao, Philippines In this research sugarcane is one of

the most promising industry in the Philippines and planted in any place in the

country. General of land suitability index in central Mindanao as a major sugar cane

district of bukidnon province was made to identify the the major factor that affect

the sugarcane production using Analytic hierarchy process and geographic

information system. This study aim to determine the relative importance of the

different factors of land suitability to sugarcane using the analytical hierarchy

process and determine the influence of different factors to the yield of sugarcane

growing areas.

AO cacayan Jr, Arnold G. Apdohan, Aljon E. Bocobo, Jerald L. Ruta.(2019)

entitled Identifying suitable Areas for small farm reservoir in agusan Del norte using

geographic information system. Stated that the Philippines as a part of Southeast

Asia, falls into the zone categorized with agriculture area prone to drought
 18

mitigating the concern due to such vulnerability and also catering the needs of small

time farmer, rainfall harvesting with the use agriculture structure called small farm

reservoir use for storing water. The study aimed to identify the suitable location for

SFR which essential due to the concern of its geographic appropriateness and

vulnerability in environment. Geographic information system through the ArcMap

software is a modern tools for decision making especially in the concerns of

suitability and vulnerability assessment and was used in creating the suitability map

for SRF in this study.

 CHAPTER III

METHODS AND PROCEDURES

This chapter summarizes the process on how the data gathering and analysis

were performed. This chapter explains the methods and procedures of this study.

Research Methodology

To obtain the objectives analytical method was used in this study. The

analytical method includes the analysis of several gathered data and parameters to

achieve the output. Through the use of ESRI ArcGIS software, DEM elevation data,

and Satellite images of LANDSAT-8 were utilized in the study.

Source of Data

The data was gathered from PHILGIS, Earth Explorer SRTM-1 DEM and

LANDSAT 8 satellite image online source and utilized as the main data of the study.

Table 1. The Sources of Data of the Study

Sources Data Gathered Data Processing

For setting the main
Tarlac Province
PhilGIS roads, municipal town
Shapefiles
and municipal boundaries
For Orientation map,
Earth Explorer
Digital Elevation Model Topographic map and
SRTM -1
Solar Radiation Mapping
Earth Explorer For Land use and Land
Satellite Images
LANDSAT -8 cover mapping
 20

As indicated in Table 1. In mapping, the researchers downloaded and used

the Shapefile of Tarlac province from the site of the Philippine Geographic

Information System (PhilGIS). The Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM-1)

data was processed by NASA and the USGS SRTM data were used to model the

area solar radiation map, topographic map and orientation map using ESRI ArcGIS

spatial analyst modules. The LANDSAT-8 data set was created by the U.S.

Geological Survey and was obtained in geographic Tagged Image-File format

(GeoTIFF) for 02 January 2019. The Supervised classification was used to produce

the land-use / land-cover maps.

Data Gathering Procedure

The researchers used the area solar radiation in ESRI ArcGIS to calculate the

direct, diffuse and total global radiation map using the SRTM digital elevation

model. The area solar radiation spatial analysis tools, in the ESRI Spatial Analyst

extension, was used to map and analyze the effects of the sun over a geographic area

for specific time. Considering the atmospheric effects, locale latitude and elevation,

steepness and compass direction, daily and seasonal shifts of the sun angle, and

effects of shadows cast by surrounding topography. The total radiation is calculated

as the sum of the direct and diffuse radiation. The total amount of radiation

calculated for a particular location or area is given as global radiation. SRTM digital

elevation model was used to derive the topography and orientation in azimuth for

the investigated area. The Proximity of the solar photovoltaic farm to the main roads
 21

and municipal town is considered an economic factor. A distance function (multiple

buffers) was used to calculate the distance from the main roads and populated areas

after considering the road buffer area of 300 meters and for municipal town, a buffer

zone of 1 kilometers was used. The land use -land cover map was derived by

supervised classification of LANDSAT-8 satellite image.

 22

Treatment of Data

The following materials were acquired, collected, and processed by

adequate method.

LULC MAP
SRTM-1 DEM
(LANDSAT 8) AND
Shapefile Map
Topography

Area Solar
Radiation Orientation
(wh/m2) Proximity
to the
Proximity to
road
the built-up
areas

Standardized (Normal into a

common suitability scale)

Weighted Overlay

Suitable index for solar farm sites

Select the maximum suitability value

Select the suitable site

Figure 2. Conceptual chart for the applied methodology.
 23

Solar Radiation Mapping

The calculation of direct, diffuse and global insolation is repeated for each

feature location or every location on the topographic surface producing insolation

maps for an entire geographic area. The solar insolation equations are described as

follows (ESRI Spatial Analyst):

Formula 1. The formula for Direct Radiation

Dirθ,α = (SConst)x(βm(θ))x(SunDurθ,α )x(SunGapθ,α)x(cos(AngInθ,α))

Where:

Scons =Solar flux (constant) (1376 W/m2 )

βm(θ) =The transmissivity of the atmosphere (av. Of all wavelength) for

the shortest path in the direction of the zenith,

SunDurθ,α = The time duration represented by the sky sector.

SunGapθ,α = The gap fraction of the sun sector.

AngInθ,α = The angle of incidence between the centroid of the sky sector

and the axis normal to the surface.

Formula 2. The formula for Diffuse Radiation

Difθ,α=(Rglb)x( Pdif)x( Dur)x( SkyGapθ,α)x(Weightθ,α)x(cos(AngInθ,α))

 24

Where:

Rglb = The global normal radiation

Pdif = The proportion of global normal radiation flux that is diffused.

Dur = The time interval for analysis.

SkyGapθ,α = The gap fraction (proportion of visible sky) for the sky

sector.

Weightθ,α = The proportion of diffuse radiation originating in a given

sky sector relative to all sectors.

AngInθ,α = The angle of incidence between the centroid of the sky sector

and the intercepting surface.

Global radiation (Globaltot) is calculated as the sum of direct (Dirtot) and

diffuse (Diftot) radiation of all sun map and sky map sectors, respectively.

Formula 3. The formula for Global Radiation

Global Radiation = Total Direct Radiation + Total Diffuse Radiation

Standardization of Criteria

In this step, the criteria are placed in either minimization or maximization

functions. Solar radiation indicators were classified using equal intervals between

the maximum and minimum values and are distributed intervals. For the Orientation
 25

and Topographic criterion, the standardization was done by classifying the

Orientation map into the azimuth main directions and Topographic map into

elevation in meters. The economic criteria of proximity to the main roads and

municipal town data were minimization criteria (the less values the better). Such

criteria maps were classified using equal intervals into ten classes using equal

intervals between the maximum and minimum values. All classified criteria

attributes were recorded into a suitability scale ranging from 1-9.

Table 2: Adopt from Saaty’s Nine-Point Weighting Scale

Intensity of
Description Suitability Class
Importance
1 Equal importance Lowest suitability
2 Equal to moderate importance Very low suitability
3 Moderate importance Low suitability
4 Moderate to strong importance Moderately low suitability
5 Strong importance Moderate suitability
6 Strong to very strong importance Moderate high suitability
7 Very strong importance High suitability
Very to extremely strong
8 Very High suitability
importance
9 Extremely importance Highest suitability

Combining the Criteria Maps

The simple additive weight method was used to combine the criteria and

constraints to yield the suitability map as follows:

Suitability map = Σ (factor map * weight) Π (constraint map)

The result was also normalized and reclassified.

 26

Selection of Potential Sites

A condition rule was used to select some potential sites for constructing solar

energy farms. The sites should have a maximum suitability value from 7-9 and

should have an area between 50-100 hectares.

 CHAPTER IV

PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA

This chapter presents the data gathered and their analysis and interpretation

to answer the sub-problems raised in the study.

The Global Solar Radiation Maps

The Global Solar Radiation maps result of running ESRI Spatial Analyst

solar module are shown in Figures 3.

Figure 3. Annual Average of Solar Radiation in Santa Ignacia, Tarlac.

 28

As shown in Figure 3, in terms of solar radiation, most of the area has high

solar radiation. The maximum solar radiation in the area is 1,769,326.75 wh/m2 with

a minimum of 678,485.5 wh/m2 and the total solar radiation in the entire Santa

Ignacia, Tarlac is 262,319,259,100 wh/m2. These results imply that the solar

radiation in Santa Ignacia is enough to establish a solar energy farm in Santa Ignacia.

The Orientation Maps

Orientation map describes the direction in azimuth for land slope angles.

The Orientation produced from SRTM digital elevation model shown in Figure 4.

Figure 4. Orientation Map of Santa Ignacia, Tarlac.

 29

The Topographic Map

Topographic Map describes the topography of the area in meters. The

Topographic map also produced from SRTM digital elevation model shown in

Figure 5.

Figure 5. Topographic map of Santa Ignacia, Tarlac.

Proximity Maps

The proximity maps are the results of running distance function in ESRI

Spatial Analyst proximity to the main roads, and municipal town are shown in

Figure 6a, and 6b respectively.

 30

Figure 6a: Proximity to the Main Roads of Santa Ignacia.

Figure 6b: Proximity to the municipal town of Santa Ignacia.

 31

Land Cover and Constraints Map

The Land cover map derived by classification of LANDSAT-8 image and

the land cover standard map are shown in Figures 7a and 7b.

Figure 7a: Land use and land cover result of Supervised Classification of

LANDSAT-8
 32

Figure 7b: Constraints map derived from the land use and land cover.

Table 3: Land use and Land cover classes and related areas.

Area in Square Percentage of Total

Land use-Land Cover Class
Meter Study Area
Agricultural 72,472,500 49.87
Bare soil 50,853,600 34.99
Built-up Areas 5,932,800 4.08
Waterbodies 985,500 0.68
Vegetation 15,081,300 10.38

As shown in Table 3, the land cover map reveals the area of the agricultural

land, and bare soil is 123,326,100 sq.m equivalent to 84.86% of the study area. Such

class is favored for establishing solar energy stations because built-up areas and

natural vegetation classes should be protected from change. Built-up areas are

equivalent to 5,932,500 sq.m equivalent to 4.08% of the study area. The various
 33

land-cover classes and related areas are shown in Figure 7a and areas are mentioned

in Table (3).

Standardization of the Criteria Maps

Table 4: Standardized of Solar radiation, Orientation and Topography Attributes.

Suitability
Solar Radiation (wh/m2) Orientation (azimuth) Topography
Scale
1 678,485.50 - 799,690.08 337.5 - 360 (North) 54.635 - 61.464
2 799,690.08 - 920,894.67 22.5 - 67.5 (Northeast) 47.806 - 54.635
3 920,894.67 - 1,042,099.25 67.5 - 112.5 (East) 40.976 - 47.806
4 1,042,099.25 - 1,163,303.83 292.5 - 337.5 (Northwest) 34.147 - 40.976
5 1,163,303.83 - 1,284,508.42 27.317 - 34.147
6 1,284,508.42 - 1,405,713.00 20.488 - 27.317
7 1,405,713.00 - 1,526,917.58 202.5 - 247.5 (Southwest) 13.659 - 20.488
8 1,526,917.58 - 1,648,122.17 112.5 - 157.5 (Southeast) 6.829 - 13.659
9 1,648,122.17 - 1,769,326.75 247.5 - 292.5 (West) 0 - 6.829
10 157.5 - 202.5 (South)
10 -1 - 0 (Flat lands)

Table 5: Standardized Economic Criteria Attributes.

Suitability Distance to the Municipal Town

Distance to Main Roads (meters)
Scale (meters)
0 0 - 626.49 0 - 1,399.59
9 626.49 - 1,252.97 1,399.59 - 2,799.17
8 1,252.97 - 1,879.46 2,799.17 - 4,198.75
7 1,879.46 - 2,505.94 4,198.75 - 5,598.34
6 2,505.94 - 3,132.43 5,598.34 - 6,997.92
5 3,132.43 - 3,758.92 6,997.92 - 8,397.51
4 3,758.92 - 4,385.40 8,397.51 - 9,797.09
3 4,385.40 - 5,011.89 9,797.09 - 11,196.68
2 5,011.89 - 5,638.37 11,196.68 - 12,596.26
1 5,638.37 - 6,264.86 12,596.26 - 13,995.85
 34

The Physical and Socio-economic factors such as orientation, topography,

and distance to municipal town and main roads was shown in Table 4 and 5. Using

Arc GIS spatial analyst, the suitability index was calculated and reclassified into

nine suitability categories.

Weighted Overlay

The suitable index spatial decision model is the result of different

information from a series of layers regarding global solar radiation, orientation,

topography, and location of the study area, as well as excluding some constraints

(e.g. natural vegetation, cultivated land, urban areas), where a decision methodology

of the suitable index has been adopted from different studies and articles. The

suitability index map (of grid values ranging from 1-9) is shown in Figure 8. The

entire area of high grid values 7, 8, and 9, are suitable areas to build solar energy

farms. The suitability map reflects the potential sites for establishing solar energy

farms. Constraints areas are not considered in this assessment as these are cultivated

or urbanized lands. The result shows that areas of highly suitable sites (8-9) are

spatially distributed all over the image. Most suitable areas are spread in the north-

east areas of Santa Ignacia, Tarlac. The north-eastern region of the study area

receives high radiation quantity. In the future, the different areas in Santa Ignacia

Tarlac would be developed and the different infrastructures will be improved, the

capacity of the highly suitable sites is expected to be increasing.

 35

Figure 8: Suitability Index Map Result of the Weighted Overlay Model.

Potential Sites for Solar Farms

Six optimum sites for solar stations were selected from the suitability index

(Figure 9). The details and information of the selected sites is shown in Table 6.

The six selected sites satisfy the five criteria models and the other two selection

criteria (the first one suitability scale value and the second one is the site area).

The total solar radiation in the selected site is 7,806,610,177 wh/m2 as shown in

Table 6.
 36

Table 6. Areas of Potential Sites for Solar Farms.

Area in Square Solar Radiation in

Site Numbers Suitable Values
Meters the site (wh/m2)
1 7 541,141.38 931,526,627
2 7 867,182.46 1,575,365,299
3 8 713,092.57 1,247,770,907
4 8 750,366.30 1,369,035,179
5 8 565,095.44 1,027,876,412
6 7 923,057.19 1,655,035,753

Figure 9: Location of the selected potential sites for Solar Farms in Santa Ignacia,

Tarlac.
 37

Model Validation

Model Validation is one of the important methods to guarantee a reliable

representation of the systems represented. Validation of the model was done as the

following.

1. Land use and land cover classification image were verified by checking the

accuracy of the pixels using a high-resolution image.

2. The image comparisons were performed between the resulting suitable index

values and the highest values in the criteria images.

3. The selection of the optimum site locations was overlaid on a high-resolution

image to identify the location that has the least constraints.

 CHAPTER V

SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS

This chapter presents the summary of the study, the conclusions drawn

based on the findings and the recommendations offered.

SUMMARY

This study aims to select optimum sites for solar energy farms in Santa

Ignacia using a GIS-based solar radiation model and also through the use of

analytical method.

The analytical method includes the analysis of several gathered data and

parameters to achieve the output. Through the use of ESRI ArcGIS software, DEM

elevation data, and Satellite images of LANDSAT-8 were utilized in the study.

The data was gathered from PHILGIS, Earth Explorer SRTM-1 DEM and

LANDSAT 8 satellite image online source and utilized as the main data of the study.

Findings

Available Solar Power Potential of the Municipality of the Santa Ignacia.

In term of solar resource, most of the area has high solar radiation. A

maximum solar resource of 1,769,326.75 wh/m2, with a minimum of 678,485.5

wh/m2 in the area of Santa Ignacia, and has a total solar resource of 262,319,259,100

wh/m2.
 39

Suitable Site Criterion for Solar Energy Farms.

The suitable index spatial decision model is the result of different

information from a series of layers regarding global solar radiation, orientation,

topography, and location of the study area, as well as excluding some constraints

(e.g. natural vegetation, cultivated land, urban areas), where a decision methodology

of the suitable index has been adopted from different studies and articles. The

suitability index map (of grid values ranging from 1-9). The entire area of high grid

values 7, 8, and 9, are suitable areas to build solar energy farms. The suitability map

reflects the potential sites for establishing solar energy farms. Constraints areas are

not considered in this assessment as these are cultivated or urbanized lands. The

result shows that areas of highly suitable sites (8-9) are spatially distributed all over

the image. Most suitable areas are spread in the north-east areas of Santa Ignacia,

Tarlac. The north-eastern region of the study area receives high radiation quantity.

In the future the different areas in Santa Ignacia, Tarlac would be developed and the

different infrastructures will be improved, the capacity of the highly suitable sites is

expected to be increasing.

Selected Suitable Sites and the Total Solar Power may be Potential Generated

in Santa Ignacia.

Six optimum sites for solar stations were selected from the suitability index.

The six selected sites satisfy the five criteria models and the other two selection
 40

criteria (the first one suitability scale value and the second one is the site area).

The total solar radiation in the selected site is 7,806,610,177 wh/m2.

CONCLUSION

Based on the findings of the study, the following conclusions are drawn.

1. The selection of suitable sites for solar energy farms in Santa Ignacia is based

on the criteria factors of physical and socio-economic. For studying such

factors, remote sensing (LANDSAT-8 and SRTM-1) and GIS techniques

were used and the model map was designed.

2. The interpreted data was obtained from a series of layers regarding physical

and socio-economic factors resulted in developing a spatial decision model.

The study produced a suitability index map with plenty of suitable areas to

established solar energy farms.

3. It is concluded that the analysis was managed to solve the site selection

problem and to fulfill the objectives of the study. It considered the most

effective criteria, i.e. physical and socio-economic, and their relative

importance in decision making. Such a decision support tool studied needed

more attention from both researchers and decision-makers.

 41

RECOMMENDATION

Based on the conclusion drawn, the following recommendation are offered:

1. The vulnerability of the location for hazards such as landslide, flood, and

earthquake and also the proximity to bodies of water should also be

considered for establishing solar energy farms.

2. Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) should

disseminate information about the use and importance of the alternative

source of energy.

3. The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) protective

area or conservation area and public and private land should be considered

when finding a suitable site for solar energy farms.

4. For future researchers, a related study for finding a suitable site for solar

photovoltaic farms should consider its location temperature.

 42

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