Boosting solar efficiency: the unforeseen benefit of China’s clean air action plan
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| Titel: | Boosting solar efficiency: the unforeseen benefit of China’s clean air action plan |
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| Autoren: | Xuanying Ji, Zhou Liu, Jiangshan Mu, Zizhen Han, Zhuyi Wang, Yujiao Zhu, Kun Li, Qinyi Li, Drew Shindell, Yuqiang Zhang |
| Quelle: | Environmental Research Letters, Vol 21, Iss 1, p 014012 (2026) |
| Verlagsinformationen: | IOP Publishing |
| Publikationsjahr: | 2026 |
| Bestand: | Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
| Schlagwörter: | aerosols, solar photovoltaic, clean air actions, PVLIB-Python, climate, Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering, TD1-1066, Environmental sciences, GE1-350, Science, Physics, QC1-999 |
| Beschreibung: | China has been vigorously developing the solar photovoltaic (PV) industry to address climate change and air pollution. While aerosols constitute a significant air pollutant that impairs PV generation efficiency, few studies have examined how China’s clean air action (CAA) plan has influenced solar PV performance. To address this gap, we employ the PVLIB-Python model to quantify PV capacity factors and power generation changes across China, due to the CAA plan in China from 2013 to 2020. We find that improved air quality has substantially enhanced PV generation, particularly in eastern China, generating up to 41.3 TWh additional electricity per year, estimated with current PV capacity. The largest increases are in provinces such as Shandong and Henan, with heavier air pollution and higher PV installation. By employing multiple CMIP6 models, we also estimate potential future PV power generation changes in China. We find that with sustainable development and strong climate change mitigation policies, the reduced air pollution and increased solar radiation can potentially increase the PV power generation by 37.4–52.6 TWh per year by the 2050s, without even considering the newly installed PV facilities. |
| Publikationsart: | article in journal/newspaper |
| Sprache: | English |
| Relation: | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ae2e16; https://doaj.org/toc/1748-9326; https://doaj.org/article/9c4049927dd74a97acd480276ca8323b |
| DOI: | 10.1088/1748-9326/ae2e16 |
| Verfügbarkeit: | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ae2e16 https://doaj.org/article/9c4049927dd74a97acd480276ca8323b |
| Dokumentencode: | edsbas.3EB4FA0A |
| Datenbank: | BASE |
Nájsť tento článok vo Web of Science | Abstract: | China has been vigorously developing the solar photovoltaic (PV) industry to address climate change and air pollution. While aerosols constitute a significant air pollutant that impairs PV generation efficiency, few studies have examined how China’s clean air action (CAA) plan has influenced solar PV performance. To address this gap, we employ the PVLIB-Python model to quantify PV capacity factors and power generation changes across China, due to the CAA plan in China from 2013 to 2020. We find that improved air quality has substantially enhanced PV generation, particularly in eastern China, generating up to 41.3 TWh additional electricity per year, estimated with current PV capacity. The largest increases are in provinces such as Shandong and Henan, with heavier air pollution and higher PV installation. By employing multiple CMIP6 models, we also estimate potential future PV power generation changes in China. We find that with sustainable development and strong climate change mitigation policies, the reduced air pollution and increased solar radiation can potentially increase the PV power generation by 37.4–52.6 TWh per year by the 2050s, without even considering the newly installed PV facilities. |
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| DOI: | 10.1088/1748-9326/ae2e16 |