However, the environmental impacts of constructing and operating PV solar energy remain unclear. This study assesses the environmental consequences of PV construction and operation by examining changes in vegetation greenness on a national scale in China, where PV solar energy has rapidly expanded.
Based on the above reasons, the Chinese government plans to vigorously promote the construction of photovoltaic system in rural areas, which has been included in the 14 th Five-Year Plan of renewable energy development. In the foreseeable future, rural photovoltaic system in China will achieve rapid and sustainable growth. Figure 4.
With regard to technology research and development, the latest photoelectric conversion efficiency of China’s mass production of silicon solar cell has reached more than 25%, which is the world’s leading level (Chen et al. 2022). Figure 3. Global top 10 solar PV markets, 2021–2022 (source: author drawing based on solar power Europe 2023).
(3) The rapid growth of PV installations in China, from 1 Gigawatts (GW) in 2010 to 306 GW in 2021, is attributed to significant policy and financial support (e.g., direct fiscal subsidies, preferential loan interest rates, and tax incentives (4−6)) from the central government.
The share of solar PV and wind in global electricity generation is forecast to double to 25% in 2028 in our main case. This rapid expansion in the next five years will have implications for power systems worldwide.
Photovoltaic industry will help to reduce 33.03 Bt CO 2 till 2060. In the coming four-decade, China will face serious challenge while shifting to carbon neutral. Photovoltaic (PV) power, as one of the most promising clean energies, is seen as an important focus for decarbonization of the power sector in China.