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The air in Beijing is often bad. The city is covered by exhaust emissions from industry, automobiles and coal-fired power, which emit large amounts of harmful particulate matter, soot, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides into the air.
Dirty air has caused huge damage to human health. According to data from the World Health Organization (WHO), in China alone, air pollution causes about 1.6 million premature deaths each year, causing more than 7 million premature deaths worldwide. The victim will suffer from stroke, heart disease or lung disease.
Therefore, China has begun to take severe measures to control air pollution, but also as a way to curb carbon dioxide emissions. In addition, the Chinese government has invested a lot of money in the deployment of non-emission solar energy, and plans to further expand the photovoltaic power generation system in the future. But at present, China's air pollution is still serious, and smog not only harms health, but also reduces solar radiation reaching the ground. This greatly reduces the output power of existing photovoltaic systems.
The power industry benefits from clean air
Therefore, as researcher of Zurich ETH Climate Policy Group, Merce Labordena and her colleagues in a study just published in the journal "PLOS ONE" As shown, the solar industry will benefit greatly from clean air.
The researchers calculated that by 2040, China will receive 85 to 158 terawatt hours of additional electricity per year from the current photovoltaic power generation system and the photovoltaic power generation system to be built by then. However, this can only be achieved if the emissions from all sectors such as electricity, transportation, industry, and households are eliminated. The new power generation will be at least one-third higher than the current electricity demand in Switzerland. Solar power generation will bring up to 10.1 billion US dollars in revenue for the Chinese power industry.
According to the model, due to strict air pollution control measures, solar radiation nationwide will increase by an average of 11%. This will allow solar cells to generate one-tenth of the electricity.
However, the growth potential is different across China. For example, Beijing ’s solar radiation will only increase by 8%, but in central China and other provinces in China, the increase will reach 26%.
Good news for investors
La Bodner and her colleagues also calculated the cost of adopting the best emission standards in all sectors. The increased revenue from photovoltaic power generation can cover 13% to 17% of the cost of the strict air pollution control measures required to achieve the zero emission goal.
"Our data may be good news for investors," she continued. "If the air is not polluted, their investment will be paid back faster and free up funds for further expansion of photovoltaic power generation."
In the near future, the solar investors who will benefit the most from the government ’s strict air pollution control measures will be those on the east coast, where solar power expansion is the fastest.
This led Labodner to conclude that reducing air pollution in the populous cities on the East Coast not only benefits public health, but also accelerates the transition to renewable energy and combats global warming.
(Originally from: Daily Science China New Energy Network Synthesis)
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