Assessment of Solar Resources and Estimation of Direct and Diffuse Irradiance from Sunshine Hours in the Afar Region of Ethiopia

Assessment of Solar Resources and Estimation of Direct and Diffuse Irradiance from Sunshine Hours in the Afar Region of Ethiopia | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Assessment of Solar Resources and Estimation of Direct and Diffuse Irradiance from Sunshine Hours in the Afar Region of Ethiopia Anshebo Getachew Alemu This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9522768/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 10 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract As climate change continues to raise concerns globally, increasing energy costs and increasing demand for renewable energy sources have increased both the amount of research and the quantity of research spent on renewable energy technologies. Due to its extensive availability throughout Ethiopia's Afar region, solar energy has emerged as the most promising renewable energy option. This study aimed to investigate the solar resources in the Afar region by analysing ground-based meteorological data gathered from Assiyta, Dubti, and Samara. The amount of solar radiation at each place was estimated using the Angstrom–Prescott equation and sunshine duration data. The amount of irradiance was mapped, and seasonal changes were identified using statistical methods based on Geographic Information Systems (GIS). The average daily solar irradiation was found to be 6.7 kWh/m² in Samara, 6.1 kWh/m² in Dubti, and 6.3 kWh/m² in Assiyta. The average daily amount of solar irradiance for the three locations will be valuable to local organizations looking to install solar energy. This work will also assist with electrification efforts for pastoralist communities, as well as assist governments with developing policies that will encourage the sustainable use of renewable energy in the Afar region in the future. Sunshine Solar radiation direct solar radiation Diffuse solar radiation Geographic information system Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Reviews received at journal 10 May, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 02 May, 2026 Reviews received at journal 30 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 30 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 30 Apr, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 30 Apr, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 30 Apr, 2026 Editor invited by journal 30 Apr, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 29 Apr, 2026 First submitted to journal 29 Apr, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9522768","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":633862908,"identity":"13ac0a94-90df-42c5-be41-0cc37116eded","order_by":0,"name":"Anshebo Getachew Alemu","email":"data:image/png;base64,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","orcid":"","institution":"Samara University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Anshebo","middleName":"Getachew","lastName":"Alemu","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-04-25 06:23:35","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9522768/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9522768/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":108977790,"identity":"243c30e7-7cd2-4380-a1f8-2d1c8ce80d9d","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-05-11 11:32:54","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":703570,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"DiscoveryPaper42529.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9522768/v1_covered_beae3479-2857-45ba-b63e-1ba00af2d2c5.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Assessment of Solar Resources and Estimation of Direct and Diffuse Irradiance from Sunshine Hours in the Afar Region of Ethiopia","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"discover-energy","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"dien","sideBox":"Learn more about [Discover Energy](https://www.springer.com/43937)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"","title":"Discover Energy","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Discover Series","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Sunshine, Solar radiation, direct solar radiation, Diffuse solar radiation, Geographic information system","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9522768/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9522768/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eAs climate change continues to raise concerns globally, increasing energy costs and increasing demand for renewable energy sources have increased both the amount of research and the quantity of research spent on renewable energy technologies. 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