Solar radiation availability in the northeastern region of Saudi Arabia

The solar energy potential of the northeastern part of Saudi Arabia is inve stigated based on measurements of a complete year of data at a coastal loca tion near Dhahran. High-resolution, real-time solar radiation data were col lected and processed. Hourly, daily, and monthly statistics of solar radiat ion were made from the recorded 1-min averaged values. Clearness index is d iscussed on the basis of hourly, daily, and monthly averages. Variation of the diffuse fraction of total radiation is also determined and results are discussed.