Simulations of the selection of solar plant characteristics in Baghdad using LiDAR data processing

Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) technology is considered one of the advanced remote sensing methods for site surveys and data collection. It is in high demand for many applications like 3D site documentation, military applications, wind turbine site evaluation, and solar plant planning. LiDAR data is employed to study the solar plant’s feasibility in selecting the optimum location, power budget, azimuth and tilt angles, and the best solar panel orientations. The cloud points are collected and used to construct an LAZ file for the targeted location in Baghdad, Iraq. The abbreviation LAZ stands for LASzip, which is a compressed version of the LAS (LIDAR Aerial Survey) file format. LAZ files store LiDAR data and are commonly used for compressing significant cloud points files to 90% smaller than LAS files while retaining all the original data. Furthermore, the compression algorithm is lossless, meaning there is no data loss during the compression process. The LAZ file contains information about the site and the solar radiation around one year. It has been used to find the best design parameters like azimuth angles, tilt angles, and solar panel orientation.