<
https://reneweconomy.com.au/rooftop-solar-pv-could-supply-two-thirds-of-worlds-energy-needs-and-lower-global-temperatures/>
"Covering rooftops across the planet with solar panels could deliver 65 per
cent of current global power consumption and almost completely replace fossil
fuel-based electricity, and it could also lower global temperatures by 0.13
degrees.
These are the findings from a new study from researchers at the University of
Sussex that found rooftop solar PV could generate 19,500 terawatt hours (TWh)
of electricity per year. (Australia consumes around 250 TWh of electricity a
year).
By using nine advanced Earth system models, geospatial data mining, and
artificial intelligence techniques, the researchers were able to estimate the
global rooftop area at a resolution of 1 kilometres to evaluate the
technological potential of rooftop solar PV.
The researchers outlined their full methodology in an article published in the
journal
Nature, involving a lot of artificial intelligence machine learning
that helped to determine that rooftops currently cover 286,393
kilometres-squared (km²) of the globe.
Of this 286,393km², 30 per cent is unsurprisingly located in East Asia and 12
per cent by North America. China and the United States similarly comprised the
largest collection of rooftops, with 74,426km² and 30,928km² respectively.
They were then able to extrapolate the generation potential of rooftop solar PV
if every suitable rooftop was used, which resulted in annual electricity
generation potential of 19,483TWh.
Unfortunately, this number is based on current building stocks, which means
that poorer and undeveloped regions would not be able to benefit to the same
degree as more industrialised nations.
For example, Africa, despite having the world’s highest solar energy resources,
has very limited building stock, which means that the rooftop solar
installation potential for Africa amounts to only 1,188GW, only 7 per cent of
the global total.
Conversely, the macro-regions cumulatively boast much lower solar radiation
levels, but have an installation potential of 4,339GW, constituting 25 per cent
of the total rooftop solar potential.
The researchers were also able to use their findings to calculate the impact a
global coverage of rooftop solar would have on global warming. While figures
differed depending on the models and scenarios used, complete rooftop solar
coverage based on current building stocks could mitigate global warming by
0.13–0.05 °C."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
