Meteorological Parameters for PV Installations in Indonesia

Many countries are still dependent on fossil fuels as their primary energy supply. However, there is a growing concern about the sustainability and the environmental issue of fossil fuels. Therefore, it is important to utilize renewable resources as the energy supply, such as solar energy. As a country with a tropical climate, Indonesia has a great potential to use solar energy, due to the abundance of sunlight exposure. The present study aims to analyze several meteorological parameters for the installation of photovoltaic (PV) technology in Jakarta, Indonesia. The meteorological data provided by the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Indonesia from 2008-2021 were used at three different locations in Jakarta. Data visualizations were used to show the difference between each variable in different locations. In addition, the statistical difference between the variables in the three locations was also examined using the Mann-Whitney U test. The test shows that all parameters are evenly distributed in the three locations except for a moderate difference in air temperature in the two locations. Furthermore, the monthly analysis of the parameters also indicates that the dry season, especially from August to September, would be the optimal time to utilize PV technology. Hence, this study would be useful to give preliminary insight regarding a site-specified assessment of PV plants in Jakarta based on local meteorological data.