Abstract
The expansion of power development industry is facing enormous pressure to reduce carbon emissions in the context of global decarbonization. Using solar energy instead of traditional fossil energy to adjust energy structure is one of the important means for reducing carbon emissions. Existing research focuses on the evaluation of the generation potential of centralized or distributed photovoltaic power plants, rather than the comprehensive evaluation of multi-type power plants. Based on multi-source remote sensing data for information extraction and suitability evaluation, this paper develops a method to comprehensively evaluate the construction potential of multi-type photovoltaic power stations and determine the potential of photovoltaic power generation and carbon emission reduction on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau (QTP). The results showed that estimating the power generation potential of only single-type photovoltaic power stations cannot accurately reflect the photovoltaic power generation potential of QTP. It is also demonstrated that the emission reduction effect of the photovoltaic power generation in all prefecture-level cities of QTP can meet national emission reduction targets, showing high annual power generation potential, of which 86.59% is concentrated in Qinghai province’s Guoluo, Yushu, and Haixi. An accurate estimation of the photovoltaic power generation potential in QTP can provide a useful theoretical basis for developing carbon-saving and emission reduction strategies for clean energy in China.
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This research is supported by The Second Tibetan Plateau Scientific Expedition and Research (STEP) program (Grant No. 2019QZKK0608).
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Dongchuan Wang, Ming Qu, and HongYi Wang conceived and designed the research; Dongchuan Wang and YingYi Ma supervised the research group; Ming Qu and HongYi Wang drafted the article; Ming Qu and HongYi Wang collected and processed the data; Ming Qu, HongYi Wang, and KangJian Wang made the data analysis; Dongchuan Wang and YingYi Ma discussed and modified the original manuscript, and ShiJie Jia, shuping Zhang and ChangJin Yu polished the language of the paper. All authors have revised the article critically and approved the final manuscript.
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Wang, D., Wang, H., Qu, M. et al. Suitability evaluation and potential estimation of photovoltaic power generation and carbon emission reduction in the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau. Environ Monit Assess 195, 887 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-023-11439-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-023-11439-8