Quantifying the cost savings of global solar photovoltaic supply chains

Helveston, John Paul; He, Gang; Davidson, Michael R.

doi:10.1038/s41586-022-05316-6

Cited by 84 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 34 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The installed capacity of solar PV systems is expected to reach 4,600 GW by 2050 and avert up to 4 Gt of CO 2 emissions annually (Wang and Cong, 2021). Currently, the world's PV power capacity accounts for about 1% of total power capacity, by 2030, it is expected to provide 15% of the global electricity supply (Helveston et al, 2022), crucially helping achieve global carbon neutrality (Liu et al, 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of photovoltaic power station construction on terrestrial ecosystems: A meta-analysis

Zhang

Tian²,

Liu³

et al. 2023

Front. Ecol. Evol.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The rapid increase in construction of solar photovoltaic power stations (SPPs) has motivated ecologists to understand how these stations affect terrestrial ecosystems. Comparing study sites, effects are often not consistent, and a more systematic assessment of this topic remains lacking. Here, we evaluated the effects of SPP construction on carbon emissions, edaphic variables, microclimatic factors and vegetation characteristics in a meta-analysis. We employed log response ratios (as effect sizes) to assess how control plots differed from those beneath solar photovoltaic panels. We found that SPP construction decreased the local air temperature and photosynthetically active radiation, while increasing air humidity, especially in grasslands. Furthermore, plant aboveground biomass and vegetation cover were also enhanced by SPP construction in grassland ecosystems. In farmland ecosystems, photovoltaic panel installation increased plant aboveground biomass, soil available phosphorus and soil pH, while reducing CO2 flux, plant species richness and vegetation cover in woodlands. Thus, while SPP construction had profound ecological impacts in terrestrial ecosystems, the direction and strength of these effects were largely dependent on ecosystem type. Most studies of SPP construction to date have focused on local microclimatic and plant diversity effects, but few studies have examined effects on ecosystem functions and services. Future assessments are needed of both the benefits and disbenefits of SPP construction across different ecosystems, to improve SPP site selection and adaptive management.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of photovoltaic power station construction on terrestrial ecosystems: A meta-analysis

Zhang

Tian²,

Liu³

et al. 2023

Front. Ecol. Evol.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…25 The global supply chain of PV panels dominated by China has contributed to the cost savings for boosting the installation. 26 Based on the inventory data of PV panel production in the ecoinvent database, 64% of silicon wafer is supplied from rest of world, namely China. Thus, PS1 also reflects the situation that most of installed PV panels are imported from a country without further decarbonization.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatiotemporal analysis of the future carbon footprint of solar electricity in the United States by a dynamic life cycle assessment

Lu¹,

Tang²,

Shan³

et al. 2023

iScience

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…A reshored manufacturing base in solar PV may provide benefits such as more direct local employment and a more resilient energy supply system. Foreign manufacturers may be risky, impractical, or undesirable partners for public funds, whereas establishing a strong link between public funding of research and development and the domestic private sector has been identified as crucial to achieving climate goals, both by lowering the risks of scale-up and by granting access to markets 57 . The reshoring decision and climate agendas harmonize to ramp up climate actions, as carbon emission factors and EPBT of c-Si PV reshored manufacturing in the future reduce dramatically.…”

Section: Insightsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reshoring silicon photovoltaics manufacturing contributes to decarbonization and climate change mitigation

Liang

You

2023

Nat Commun

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The globalized supply chain for crystalline silicon (c-Si) photovoltaic (PV) panels is increasingly fragile, as the now-mundane freight crisis and other geopolitical risks threaten to postpone major PV projects. Here, we study and report the results of climate change implications of reshoring solar panel manufacturing as a robust and resilient strategy to reduce reliance on foreign PV panel supplies. We project that if the U.S. could fully bring c-Si PV panel manufacturing back home by 2035, the estimated greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption would be 30% and 13% lower, respectively, than having relied on global imports in 2020, as solar power emerges as a major renewable energy source. If the reshored manufacturing target is achieved by 2050, the climate change and energy impacts would be further reduced by 33% and 17%, compared to the 2020 level. The reshored manufacturing demonstrates significant progress in domestic competitiveness and toward decarbonization goals, and the positive reductions in climate change impacts align with the climate target.

show abstract

Quantifying the cost savings of global solar photovoltaic supply chains

Cited by 84 publications

References 34 publications

Effects of photovoltaic power station construction on terrestrial ecosystems: A meta-analysis

Effects of photovoltaic power station construction on terrestrial ecosystems: A meta-analysis

Spatiotemporal analysis of the future carbon footprint of solar electricity in the United States by a dynamic life cycle assessment

Reshoring silicon photovoltaics manufacturing contributes to decarbonization and climate change mitigation

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About