Abstract
Atypical weather conditions are known to occur for extended periods of time that either may or may not coincide with El Nino and La Nina events in the Pacific Ocean. Anomalies that increase clouds influence the reliability of both renewable energy and building environmental-control systems. Backup equipment on non-grid solar power systems may run out of capacity for such items as communications electronics, flood-warning stream gages, refrigerators, and small village power systems in remote regions. This paper provides 1×1-degree resolution global maps that identify those regions which experienced large abnormal solar energy during a 10-year period. A source is identified where specific values for maximum year-to-year variability can be obtained in regions where ground-site measurements do not exist.
