Comparison of global irradiance measurements of the official Spanish radiometric network for 2006 with satellite estimated data

The monthly average values of daily global irradiance measured in broadband at 40 stations of the National Radiometric Network of the Spanish Meteorological Agency have been compared with the monthly values of SIS (Surface Incoming Shortwave radiation) of the Climate Monitoring-Satellite Application Facility for 2006. It is calculated by the data from the instrument Spinning Enhanced Visible and Infrared Imager of the Meteosat Second Generation satellite and of the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer of the NOAA polar satellites. The results show a great similarity between the data from both sources of information, and the discrepancies found are around 5%. The aim of such a comparison is to evaluate the suitability of the use of the SIS data for the elaboration of an atlas of solar irradiance available in Spain.