The TEP165 research group "Solar Energy Resources, Climatology, Atmospheric Physics" was created in 1995, under the leadership of our admired and remembered colleague and university professor, Francisco Javier Batlles Garrido, in the field of Production Technologies, specifically in the sectoral development area of Renewable Energies. Until today, different researchers have developed their scientific and research careers in this group, focused on the field of solar energy and climatology. Linked to the University of Almeria since its beginnings, it has numerous international, national, and regional research projects, as well as projects with private companies, where the main research lines can be summarized as follows:
- Evaluation, modeling, and analysis of solar radiation components.
- Transmission of solar radiation through the atmosphere.
- Artificial intelligence techniques and digital terrain models.
- Remote sensing systems.
- Optimization of sky cameras.
- Production of energy through renewable resources.
- Climate change and historical climatology.
- Thermal storage with phase change materials.
- Prediction of photovoltaic plant production.
- Cloudiness forecasting.
- Geographic information systems (GIS).
In recent decades, the experience of Tep165 group in the study of solar resource and cloudiness has allowed for the development of short-term solar radiation and cloudiness prediction systems, aimed at optimizing solar energy plants, mainly concentrating (parabolic trough and central tower) and photovoltaic. Additionally, a reference METEO station has been established at the Solar Energy Research Center (CIESOL) for atmospheric monitoring and the development of predictive systems that affect the production of solar plants in general.
The group has also been continuously working on the development of new scenarios for energy utilization in materials with phase change, primarily applied to cooling and heating in self-sufficient buildings, as well as in other fields such as industrial or greenhouse applications.