Dataset Information

Reduction of solar photovoltaic resources due to air pollution in China.

ABSTRACT: Solar photovoltaic (PV) electricity generation is expanding rapidly in China, with total capacity projected to be 400 GW by 2030. However, severe aerosol pollution over China reduces solar radiation reaching the surface. We estimate the aerosol impact on solar PV electricity generation at the provincial and regional grid levels in China. Our approach is to examine the 12-year (2003-2014) average reduction in point-of-array irradiance (POAI) caused by aerosols in the atmosphere. We apply satellite-derived surface irradiance data from the NASA Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) with a PV performance model (PVLIB-Python) to calculate the impact of aerosols and clouds on POAI. Our findings reveal that aerosols over northern and eastern China, the most polluted regions, reduce annual average POAI by up to 1.5 kWh/m² per day relative to pollution-free conditions, a decrease of up to 35%. Annual average reductions of POAI over both northern and eastern China are about 20-25%. We also evaluate the seasonal variability of the impact and find that aerosols in this region are as important as clouds in winter. Furthermore, we find that aerosols decrease electricity output of tracking PV systems more than those with fixed arrays: over eastern China, POAI is reduced by 21% for fixed systems at optimal angle and 34% for two-axis tracking systems. We conclude that PV system performance in northern and eastern China will benefit from improvements in air quality and will facilitate that improvement by providing emission-free electricity.

SUBMITTER: Li X

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5692568 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Reduction of solar photovoltaic resources due to air pollution in China.

Li Xiaoyuan X Wagner Fabian F Peng Wei W Yang Junnan J Mauzerall Denise L DL

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 20171024 45

Solar photovoltaic (PV) electricity generation is expanding rapidly in China, with total capacity projected to be 400 GW by 2030. However, severe aerosol pollution over China reduces solar radiation reaching the surface. We estimate the aerosol impact on solar PV electricity generation at the provincial and regional grid levels in China. Our approach is to examine the 12-year (2003-2014) average reduction in point-of-array irradiance (POAI) caused by aerosols in the atmosphere. We apply satellit ...[more]

PMID: 29078360

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Project description:BackgroundAir pollution disparities by socioeconomic status (SES) are well documented for the United States, with most literature indicating an inverse relationship (i.e., higher concentrations for lower-SES populations). Few studies exist for China, a country accounting for 26% of global premature deaths from ambient air pollution.ObjectiveOur objective was to test the relationship between ambient air pollution exposures and SES in China.MethodsWe combined estimated year 2015 annual-average ambient levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and fine particulate matter [PM ≤2.5μm in aerodynamic diameter (PM2.5)] with national demographic information. Pollution estimates were derived from a national empirical model for China at 1-km spatial resolution; demographic estimates were derived from national gridded gross national product (GDP) per capita at 1-km resolution, and (separately) a national representative sample of 21,095 individuals from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) 2015 cohort. Our use of global data on population density and cohort data on where people live helped avoid the spatial imprecision found in publicly available census data for China. We quantified air pollution disparities among individual's rural-to-urban migration status; SES factors (education, occupation, and income); and minority status. We compared results using three approaches to SES measurement: individual SES score, community-averaged SES score, and gridded GDP per capita.ResultsAmbient NO2 and PM2.5 levels were higher for higher-SES populations than for lower-SES population, higher for long-standing urban residents than for rural-to-urban migrant populations, and higher for the majority ethnic group (Han) than for the average across nine minority groups. For the three SES measurements (individual SES score, community-averaged SES score, gridded GDP per capita), a 1-interquartile range higher SES corresponded to higher concentrations of 6-9 μg/m3 NO2 and 3-6 μg/m3 PM2.5; average concentrations for the highest and lowest 20th percentile of SES differed by 41-89% for NO2 and 12-25% for PM2.5. This pattern held in rural and urban locations, across geographic regions, across a wide range of spatial resolution, and for modeled vs. measured pollution concentrations.ConclusionsMultiple analyses here reveal that in China, ambient NO2 and PM2.5 concentrations are higher for high-SES than for low-SES individuals; these results are robust to multiple sensitivity analyses. Our findings are consistent with the idea that in China's current industrialization and urbanization stage, economic development is correlated with both SES and air pollution. To our knowledge, our study provides the most comprehensive picture to date of ambient air pollution disparities in China; the results differ dramatically from results and from theories to explain conditions in the United States. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP9872.

Dataset Information

Reduction of solar photovoltaic resources due to air pollution in China.

Publications

Reduction of solar photovoltaic resources due to air pollution in China.

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