The challenge of global warming, the depletion of fossil resources and the increase of electricity demand urge countries like Egypt to seek for clean renewable electricity sources such as solar power. Meanwhile, lots of buildings have been or will be built in new cities across Egypt to accommodate the growing population. The roofs of these buildings offer great opportunities for harvesting solar power by installing photovoltaic (PV) panels. A tool to evaluate the solar resources on the roofs would be beneficial for home owners and city planners. This thesis develops parts of a model named RPVF using ArcGIS Model Builder to estimate the PV potentials on building rooftops in the context of Egypt. Two tools of the RPVF model are explained in this thesis: The Area tool simulates shadows cast by rooftop structures on roof surfaces based on the building footprint data and roof plan data, resulting in the available non-shadowed area that is suitable for installing PV systems; The PV tool then determines the layout of the PV array and generates monthly and annual electricity output estimations based on solar radiation and temperature data. The model is applied to a study area, Al Rehab City in New Cairo, to obtain the PV potential estimations for the residential buildings. The potentials of four PV panels of different type, power, and dimension are assessed using the RPVF model. Almost all residential buildings in Al Rehab have enough roof surface for the PV systems. Depending on the panel choice, the total installed capacity could reach 55 to 76 MW, capable of generating 96 to 138 GWh of electricity in the 1st year. A second approach to estimate the rooftop PV potentials of residential buildings in Al Rehab is achieved based on a LOD2 CityGML model, which involves radiation data provided by Willenborg et al. (2017). The available roof area for installing PV systems is identified based on roof geometry. The power of the PV system is estimated from the power and dimensions of a polycrystalline PV panel, and the assumption that 75% of the available area can fit PV installations. The annual PV output is estimated by multiplying the system power by Peak Sun Hours, and by an assumed Performance Ratio of 72.7%. The total installed power is estimated at 55 MW, equivalent to the RPVF result. The 1st-year generation reaches approximately 112 GWh, 16% more than the RPVF result. The output 3D city model is transformed to a 3DCIM model and uploaded to ArcGIS Online for public access. The GIS models and tools can be used by home owners in retrofitting the existing roofs or by city planners in designing sustainable buildings. They provide strong support in spatial analysis during urban planning, and offer many visualization possibilities for effective communication.     «

The challenge of global warming, the depletion of fossil resources and the increase of electricity demand urge countries like Egypt to seek for clean renewable electricity sources such as solar power. Meanwhile, lots of buildings have been or will be built in new cities across Egypt to accommodate the growing population. The roofs of these buildings offer great opportunities for harvesting solar power by installing photovoltaic (PV) panels. A tool to evaluate the solar resources on the roofs wou...     »