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Nick Topper
Hannah Bristol
28 February 2014

Solar Panel Suitability Modelling
Project Background:
Solar power is increasingly relevant in todays world. In order to offset reliance and
emissions of fossil fuels, alternative energy must be utilized. Solar energy is one of the most
powerful forms of alternative energy, and as technology advances, it will only become more
accessible and more significant. In order to maximize efficiency for solar panel installation, this
project will investigate the best rooftop locations for solar panels in Minneapolis, Minnesota
using a suitability model that incorporates solar radiation, slope, shadow, and aspect. This area
was chosen because it has high variation in building height which will produce diverse results
and allow the utility of the model to be tested in different scenarios. The audience for this
project is comprised of a wide variety of parties including solar panel manufacturers, large and
small corporations looking to reduce their ecological footprint, homeowners, and city planners.
The aim of this project is to evaluate rooftop suitability for solar panel installation in the
Minneapolis. In order to complete this overarching goal, several objectives must be completed.
The first objective will be collecting the data and preprocessing the required data. This involves
downloading LiDAR data and creating an LAS Dataset. The next step is to extract rooftops from
the LAS Dataset. A DSM must also be generated from the LiDAR data through a several step
process. This process beings with converting the LAS files to a multipoint feature, then taking
the multipoint feature and creating a terrain feature. From the terrain feature, the DSM may
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finally be produced. Once this is accomplished, the layers for the suitability model can be
calculated and combined to create the final suitability model. Lastly, there will be an analysis of
the results.

Figure 1. This figure outlines the study area for this project--Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Data:
The first piece of data for this project is a boundary of the study area. This can be
produced manually by creating a polygon feature class in ArcMap or can be downloaded as a
political boundary of Minneapolis from the Census.
Other data necessary for the completion of this project is a LiDAR point cloud data to
extract buildings. This data can be found online through the Minnesota Department of Natural
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Resources. The LiDAR data was collected through the Minnesota Elevation Mapping Project
which began in 2010 and was completed in 2012 (Mn DNR, 2014). The Saint Paul and
Minneapolis area was flownin the fourth stage of the project in 2011 with some reflights
occurring in 2012 by a private contractor, Fugro Horizons Inc.
The LiDAR data was collected at 3.8 points per square meter (less than a 1 meter
resolution) indicating that it is highly accurate. The data is projected in UTM Zone 15N and is
available in tiles following the 16
th
USGS 1:24,000 quadrangle tiles. Because the data is has a
high resolution and has been collected somewhat recently, data concerns are minimal. A high
resolution ortho image will also be necessary to verify the LiDAR data.

Project Approach:
Optimal placement of rooftop mounted solar panels will be determined using overlay
analysis. The final model will be a prescriptive, inductive model. This geospatial question will be
analyzed following a set of seven general steps as outlined by the Environmental Science
Research Institution (ESRI) for site specific suitability modeling.
1. Define the problem: Where is the best place to mount rooftop solar panels in the City of
Minneapolis, MN?
2. Break the problem into sub-models: Two models will be created to address this
geospatial problem. Model One will preprocess point cloud data obtained from the
Minnesota DNR to allow for incorporation in Model Two. Model Two will serve as a
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suitability calculator, and will incorporate the output of Model One in addition to other
significant layers that will be used to answer the geospatial question.
3. Determine significant layers: Significant layers include, building rooftop outlines
extracted from LiDAR data, a slope raster, an aspect raster, a shadow raster, and a
sunlight insolation raster. The slope, aspect, shadow, and sunlight insolation layers will
be derived from a terrain model created from the LiDAR data.
4. Reclassify or transform the data within a layer: All rasters will be reclassified on a scale
of one to four with one indicating unsuitable and four indicating suitable.
5. Weight the input layers: Currently, there is no plan to specifically weight any of the
input layers. If a variable is discovered to be significantly influential to the model,
weights to normalize its affect may be done.
6. Add or combine the layers: Using model builder, the input layers will be combined to
create a suitability model.
7. Analyze: Evaluation of the output will be done to determine if the model successfully
outlined optimal placement of rooftop mounted solar panels. In the future, some
comparisons may be conducted to find whether or not any solar panels exist in the city
and if they are compliant with the model from this project.

Methodology:
The methodology for this project includes obtaining boundary and LiDAR data which will then
be manipulated to create a digital surface model (DSM). The DSM will then be used to create
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other layers that will help to determine the suitability for rooftops within the study area. These
layers include slope, aspect, shadow, and solar radiation and will be clipped down to the
rooftops exclusively. Once the layers have been created and clipped, they can be combined to
create a final suitability model which will rank the rooftop surfaces between four and sixteen
with higher values being more suitable.
1. Create/obtain city boundary data.
Boundary data for Minneapolis can be downloaded from the Metropolitan Council for
the MetroGIS community.
2. Obtain LiDAR data and preprocess the data.
Input the boundary data into the MN LiDAR Data Download by Polygon tool
which can be downloaded from their webpage (MN DNR, 2014). This tool will
use the boundary data to determine which LiDAR tiles will need to be
downloaded and unzip the files from LAZ to LAS. It will also merge the tiles that
are needed into a file geodatabase. Lastly, it will create an LAS Dataset which is
the only format in which a user can view LiDAR data within ArcMap.
3. Extract buildings from the LiDAR data.
Create a first return and last return raster from the LAS Dataset by setting the
return in the Properties window for the LAS Dataset and using the LAS Dataset to
Raster conversion tool.
Use Raster Calculator to subtract the first return from the last return. The output
will be a DSM with only the building rooftops included.
4. Create a DSM from the LAS files.
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Create a multipoint feature class from the LAS files then input the feature class
into a terrain model.
Create a DSM from the terrain model.
5. Create layers for final suitability model.
Radiation: Use the Area Solar Radiation tool to calculate the radiation. This tool
takes into account time, latitude, elevation, and various other optional
parameters.
Slope: Use the Spatial Analyst Slope tool to calculate slope for the study area
from the LiDAR derived DSM.
Aspect: Use the Spatial Analyst Aspect tool to calculate aspect for the study area
from the LiDAR derived DSM.
Shadow: Use the Hillshade Analysis tool to calculate shadows using the LiDAR
derived DSM as an input.
6. Rank layers for final suitability model.
Each layer will be ranked from one to four based on its values using the
Reclassify tool. One will be the least suitable and four will be the most suitable.
7. Combine layers for final suitability model.
Use the Raster Calculator tool to add the three layers together.
8. Clip the suitability model to the extracted building layer from step three.
Use the Clip tool to cut out the rooftops from the rest of the raster.
9. Analyze results and make adjustments as needed.
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A building layer created by the Minnesota DNR is available for download. A
comparison between the building extraction layer and the DNR building layer will
provide insight into the accuracy of the project.

Expected Results:
The result of this analysis will be a model outlining all rooftops in the study area that will
display a ranked value for each rooftop describing its suitability for the instalment of a solar
panel. Ranked rooftop values will be on a scale of five to twenty with five indicating poor
suitability and twenty indicating good suitability for solar panel placement. Due to the fact that
building rooftop outlines can be extracted with a high level of completeness and correctness as
shown by Yang, Xu, and Dong (2013), the results of the analysis are expected to be extremely
accurate to mirror the resolution of the input LiDAR data. The output of this suitability model
will be projected on labeled satellite imagery set to an extent showing the entire study area. By
projecting the suitability model on this type of basemap, orientation and interpretation of the
results can be easily and effectively done. Although not yet decided, these results will either be
presented online as an interactive ESRI Web Map, or on a printed, narrative poster.
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Figure 2. This is an example of a final output for the suitability model from a project conducted in Gteborg titled Solar Energy
from Building Envelopes (Jonsson, 2012). The final model for this project will likely look very similar.


Conclusion:
The purpose of this proposal is to outline the specific objectives that will answer the
geospatial question of where to optimally place rooftop mounted solar panels within the City of
Minneapolis, MN. Specifically, the use of highly accurate (LiDAR) data will allow for precise
modelling of a solution to this question. By using freely downloaded LiDAR data obtained from
the Minnesota DNR as the foundation of our analysis, this project will be a cost effective way to
address a high impact issue. Also, by using ArcGIS Model Builder to collectively process each
input layer, a clear schematic of the methodology will be outlined. In addition to producing an
output that answers the geospatial question for this project, the model will also be easily
transferable to model other locations with the same geospatial question. The expected result of
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this analysis aims to encourage the installation of solar panels by outlining optimal placement
using GIS as an innovative perspective for the location of their deployment within the city. As
more solar panels are installed and begin harnessing the suns renewable energy, a positive
alternative to fossil consumption will become more significant.
Sources:
"LiDAR Elevation Data for Minnesota." LiDAR Information. Minnesota Geospatial Information
Office, n.d. Web. 28 Feb. 2014.
Jonsson, Per, Tomas Landelius, and Fredrik Lindberg (2012, April). Review of Solar Energy
Modeling in the Urban Environment. Gteborg: WSP Analysis & Strategy, Apr. 2012.
PDF.
Understanding overlay analysis. ArcGIS 10.2 Help. Accessed 28 February 2014.
Yang, B., Xu, W., Dong, Z. (2013). Automated Extraction of Building Outlines From Airborne
Laser Scanning Point Coulds. IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Letters, Vol. 10, No.
6.