Climate risks of global deployed solar photovoltaic systems
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 15550649 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Deshuai Zhang (Sun Yat-sen University, corresponding author), Ying Ding (0000-0003-2567-2009, Sun Yat-sen University), Zhuolin Ouyang (Sun Yat-sen University), Yanjun Li (0000-0003-2252-7412, Sun Yat-sen University), Amal BaQais (0000-0002-4896-8235, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University), Peng Wang (0000-0003-3639-6126, Sun Yat-sen University), Haicheng Zhang (0000-0002-9313-5953, Sun Yat-sen University) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 21 |
| Issue | 7 |
| Pages | 074012-074012 |
| Publication date | 2026-03-30 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Environmental Research Letters (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1748-9326 • E-ISSN: 1748-9326 |
| Publisher | IOP Publishing (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1088/1748-9326/ae58ba |
| OpenAlex | W7143543347 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 36 |
Solar photovoltaics (PV) are vital to the global energy transition, yet their climate resilience remains poorly understood. Existing projections typically evaluate theoretical PV power generation potential ( P solarPV ) across all land surfaces, rather than at actual PV-deployment sites. Here, we assess climate risks to global operational PV systems over 2015–2100 under three greenhouse-gas emission scenarios. We found that under a high-emission scenario, rising temperatures outweigh solar radiation gains, causing a net decline in global P solarPV by 2100, with Northern America experiencing the most severe losses. High emissions also impair the PV power reliability, increasing the annual frequencies of poor-power days while decreasing rich-power days. Although intra-annual volatilities in P solarPV weakens globally, it intensifies in key regions like central Europe. Our results reveal a spatial mismatch between current PV infrastructure and climate-resilient zones, underscoring that emission mitigation and strategic, diversified deployment are imperative for a secure solar-powered future
Climate change · Global warming · Greenhouse gas · Photovoltaic system · Photovoltaics · Resilience (materials science · Software deployment · Solar energy · Solar Power · Integrated Energy Systems Optimization · Photovoltaic System Optimization Techniques · Photovoltaic Systems and Sustainability
| Highly cited | No |
|---|