Global solar radiation is an important parameter necessary for most ecological models and serves as input for different photovoltaic conversion systems. Hence, it is of economic importance to renewable energy sources. In this study, linear regression model of Angstrom and Page was employed to correlate the global solar radiation data with relative sunshine duration, relative humidity and maximum temperature for Enugu, Nigeria. Other multiple linear regression models were obtained to check the correlation of global solar radiation with sunshine duration combined with other meteorological parameters, which include maximum temperature and relative humidity. The meteorological parameters used for this work were obtained from the Nigeria meteorological agency (NIMET) Abuja for the period of 11 years from 2011 to 2021. The results obtained were statistically tested using four statistical error indicators: Mean Bias Error (MBE), Root Mean Square Error, (RMSE), Mean Percentage Error (MPE) and t-stat to establish the validity of the results. The analyses show that there is close correlation between the calculated mean global solar radiation and the measured global solar radiation using the established models, though some models correlate better than others. The best empirical equation for each of the cities was evaluated based on the values of the t – stat. The best model for Enugu is with t – stat value of 0.11. The global solar radiation intensity obtained with these models can be used in the design, analysis and performance estimation of solar energy conversion systems which is gradually but steadily gaining ground in Nigeria and the world at large.
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