Due to increased development capabilities and reduced costs, rooftop solar photovoltaic technology (such as rooftop solar cell modules used in homes, commercial and industrial buildings) has become the fastest-developing power generation technology. According to a new report, it is estimated that by 2050, photovoltaic technology can meet 25-49% of global electricity demand.
Despite these expectations, the global assessment of the power generation potential and associated costs of this technology is still a challenge, and the new report attempts to complete this challenge.
The research team, including lead author Siddharth Joshi, along with colleagues from University College Cork (UCC), Professor Brian Ó Gallachóir, Dr. Paul Holloway, and colleagues from Imperial College London, Columbia University, and Ahmedabad University, evaluated the global The potential and associated costs of rooftop solar photovoltaic power generation. The author mapped the global surface area of 130 million square kilometers, used a new machine learning algorithm to determine the roof area of 200,000 square kilometers, and then analyzed these roof areas to quantify the global power generation potential of rooftop solar photovoltaic power generation.
The authors found that a cost of US$40-280 per MWh can achieve the global potential of 27PWh per year. Asia, North America and Europe have the greatest power generation potential. Among them, India has the lowest cost to realize the potential of electricity at US$66 per MWh and China at US$68 per MWh, while the United Kingdom and the United States are among the countries with the highest costs. The author believes that the power generation potential of rooftop solar modules exceeds the total annual global power consumption in 2018. However, its future potential will depend on the development and cost of power storage solutions.
UCC researcher Siddharth Joshi said: "For the first time, we have combined big data, machine learning and geographic information systems to analyze the spatial and temporal characteristics of global rooftop photovoltaics with higher accuracy. This research will help to improve the global energy of rooftop solar photovoltaics. Representation in the system."
The authors concluded that their findings will have an important impact on sustainable development and efforts to mitigate climate change. Globally, there were nearly 800 million people without electricity in 2018, and most of them lived in rural areas.
Co-author Professor Brian Ó Gallachóir said: "The potential of rooftop solar to reach 27PWh is extremely important. In comparison, in 2019, the total electricity consumption of all households in the world is 6PWh. Next month, the UK will hold the Global Climate Change Conference These results are very timely. Rooftop solar photovoltaic power generation not only helps to reduce emissions, but also allows homeowners to directly participate in the energy transition."
Senior author Dr. James Glynn commented: "The public data generated by this study can help quantify, locate and prioritize investments in zero-carbon power systems. By drawing high-resolution global solar photovoltaic rooftop potential maps, developing countries’ Development banks and energy agencies can better understand the role of this technology in promoting climate action, access to affordable clean energy and other sustainable development areas."
Dr. Shivika Mittal, Research Assistant for Energy and Comprehensive Assessment Models at the Grantham Institute at Imperial College London, said, “In the past ten years, the cost of generating electricity from solar roof modules has dropped significantly. Our new data will help governments, organizations, and companies identify solar power’s hot spots. ', they can mobilize new investment for these hotspots, which will help accelerate the application of solar power."
These researchers from UCC University's SFI Energy, Climate and Ocean Research Center MaREI Institute collaborated with international research partners and published their research results in the journal Nature Communications.