Worldwide rooftop photovoltaic electricity generation may mitigate global warming
Nanjing Normal University · Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research · +25 more institutions
Abstract
Rooftop photovoltaic (RPV) is often understood as a niche contribution to climate change mitigation. However, the global potential of RPVs to mitigate global warming is unknown. Here we map the global rooftop area at 1-km resolution, quantifying 286,393 km2 of rooftops worldwide through geospatial data mining and artificial intelligence techniques. Using nine advanced Earth system models from the coupled model intercomparison project phase 6, we reveal that RPVs could substantially contribute to reducing global temperatures by 0.05–0.13 °C before 2050. Region-specific analysis underscores the variability in RPV potential and the necessity of tailored approaches to optimize RPV deployment, considering local…
Citation impact
- FWCI
- 28.32
- Percentile
- 100%
- References
- 54
Authors
29- ZZZhixin ZhangCorresponding
Nanjing Normal University, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research
- ZQZhen Qian
Nanjing Normal University, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Technical University of Munich
- MCMin Chen
Nanjing Normal University, Beijing Institute of Big Data Research, Jiangsu Center for Collaborative Innovation in Geographical Information Resource Development and Application
- RZRui Zhu
Agency for Science, Technology and Research, Institute of High Performance Computing
- FZFan Zhang
Peking University
Topics & keywords
- Photovoltaic system
- Environmental science
- Global warming
- Electricity generation
- Electricity
- Climate change
- Natural resource economics
- Meteorology
- Affordable and clean energy