A new study of solar energy usage in China finds several key factors limiting the clean energy source’s potential performance
Yin, Y., Zhang, D., Zhu, M., Zhang, H., Liu, D., Sun, Y., Ren, M., Wang, P., (2024). Improving land-use efficiency of solar power in China and policy implications. Solar Energy. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0038092X24005620?dgcid=coauthor
Abstract
Maximizing the energy output of solar photovoltaic (PV) farms is critical to realizing the potential of this clean energy resource. Also critical to the future of solar power in many countries is the need to reduce excessive land use, which is often required for large-scale deployment of solar arrays. In this paper, the researchers examined the use of solar PV in China and developed a framework for assessing integrated solar power potential in an effort to quantify the gap between solar’s technical potential and the actual amount of energy generated by solar PV farms on national, provincial, and plant scales, identifying the key factors that result in underperformance of solar facilities. Specifically, to assess a solar installation’s technical potential, hourly meteorological reanalysis data is adopted and the power generation-related parameters are calculated (i.e. optimal panel tilt, array spacing, packing factor, etc.) with consideration of their spatial variability. For actual power generation, a detailed plant-level dataset is first established by this study which integrates technical, operational, and geospatial information from 145 solar farms across seven provinces in China. The study found that the actual PV power generation per square meter is only 1/3 of the estimated technical potential. Technological factors are the primary cause of underperformance, accounting for 48.43% of the shortfall, followed by engineering and management factors, accounting for 38.55% and 13.02%, respectively. The study reveals considerable underperformance of solar farms in China, identifies the causal factors, and highlights the importance of integrating land-use efficiency indicators into solar power planning and development.