Estimation of losses in solar energy production from air pollution in China since 1960 using surface radiation data

Abstract

China is the largest worldwide consumer of solar photovoltaic (PV) electricity, with 130 GW of installed capacity as of 2017. China's PV capacity is expected to reach at least 400 GW by 2030, to provide 10% of its primary energy. However, anthropogenic aerosol emissions and changes in cloud cover affect solar radiation in China. Here, we use observational radiation data from 119 stations across China to show that the PV potential decreased on average by 11-15% between 1960 and 2015. The relationship between observed surface radiation and emissions of sulfur dioxide and black carbon suggests that strict air pollution control measures, combined with reduced fossil fuel consumption, would allow surface radiation to increase. We find that reverting back to 1960s radiation levels in China could yield a 12-13% increase in electricity generation, equivalent to an additional 14 TWh produced with 2016 PV capacities, and 51-74 TWh with the expected 2030 capacities.

Photocatalytic Aided Removal of Nitrogen Oxides and VOCs from Outdoor Environment: Graphene as a Highway for Electron Mobility in TiO2 Nanoparticles

“…G1.0/250 < G0.5/250 < Ti250). On the contrary, when the specimens were thermally treated at 450 °C / 2h, IPA oxidation had this trend: G1.0/450 > G0.5/450 > Ti450, even though the rise in photocatalytic activity was tiny (18,15, and 14 ppm.h -1 , respectively).…”

“…Moreover, ground-level ozone (O 3 ) is formed by photochemical reactions between sunlight and NO x and VOCs [17], this again having an adverse impact on human health and climate. Additionally, those anthropogenic aerosols emissions are even able to (partly) obscure the sun, as it has been shown that up to 15% of photovoltaic electricity has been "lost" in China between 1960 and 2015 because of the increased air pollution [18]. However, in 2014, China introduced an ultra-low emissions standards policy to limit the emissions of those anthropogenic aerosols [19].…”

Increase in domestic electricity consumption from particulate air pollution

“…High concentrations of particulate matter reduce solar electricity generation due to the changed solar irradiance. The emission of aerosols can attenuate solar radiation by scattering and absorbing sunlight before it reaches the solar panel 21 , and thus reduces photovoltaic (PV) performance 22,23 . Large particles in particulate matter can also generate dust on top of solar panels.…”

“…In areas with severe air pollution such as China, the potential of solar PV generation decreased on average by 11-15% between 1960 and 2015 (ref. 22 ); the decrease of point-of-array irradiance can even reach 35% in the most polluted areas 23 . Such interaction adds another dimension to the complexity of assessing pollution externalities.…”

DSCOVR/EPIC-derived global hourly/daily downward shortwave and photosynthetically active radiation data at 0.1° × 0.1° resolution

“…Global high-quality SW/PAR data at sub-daily scales are highly desired for investigating the diurnal variabilities of solarinduced fluorescence, photosynthesis (Damm et al, 2010) and evapotranspiration (Van Heerwaarden et al, 2010), and for solar energy utilization (Sweerts et al, 2019). However, accurately quantifying global SW/PAR is challenging based on current polarorbiting or/and geostationary satellites/sensors, because: 1) sun-synchronous polar-orbiting satellites generally have high spatial 55 resolution but cannot capture the sub-daily variations of SW/PAR owing to low revisiting frequency; 2) geostationary satellites usually have high temporal resolution but limited geographical coverage (i.e.…”