Implementing an open-source tool for modelling solar PV potential in dense urban areas

Distributed PV has the potential for generating a significant proportion of many cities' electricity needs. However, the number of installations in dense urban locations is still negligible. Unlike detached single-family homes in low-density neighbourhoods, where installation is relatively straight-forward and solar access is generally unobstructed, dense urban areas pose special challenges. The paper demonstrates application of a free, open-source tool to assess how building configurations affect insolation and hence PV installation potential on building envelopes (roofs and facades) in complex, irregular urban environments. A sensitivity analysis using generic building types in regular plans highlights differences in the PV potential of contrasting building typologies providing a similar number of dwellings for a prototypical 300x300m urban block with a population density equivalent to 25,000 persons/km².