Volume 12, Issue 1 (January 2025), Pages: 1-6
----------------------------------------------
Original Research Paper
Assessing the impact of air quality on solar energy production
Author(s):
Vivian Sultan *, D. J. Coleman, Erick Robles, Millen Van
Affiliation(s):
College of Business and Economics, California State University, Los Angeles, USA
Full text
Full Text - PDF
* Corresponding Author.
Corresponding author's ORCID profile: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1066-5212
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.21833/ijaas.2025.01.001
Abstract
In studying fires and other natural disasters, air quality is often used to assess their severity. This study explores the relationship between air quality and solar energy production, focusing on how air pollutants affect solar output. We analyze four air quality indicators—ozone (O₃), nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), carbon monoxide (CO), and sulfur dioxide (SO₂)—and their effects on photovoltaic performance using data analysis and geographic information systems. This research highlights the importance of understanding this connection to improve solar panel placement and efficiency. Hypothesis testing confirms a negative correlation between poor air quality and solar energy production.
© 2024 The Authors. Published by IASE.
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Keywords
Air quality, Solar output, Photovoltaics, Pollutants, GIS
Article history
Received 19 June 2024, Received in revised form 28 October 2024, Accepted 2 December 2024
Acknowledgment
No Acknowledgment.
Compliance with ethical standards
Conflict of interest: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Citation:
Sultan V, Coleman DJ, Robles E, and Van M (2025). Assessing the impact of air quality on solar energy production. International Journal of Advanced and Applied Sciences, 12(1): 1-6
Permanent Link to this page
Figures
Fig. 1 Fig. 2 Fig. 3 Fig. 4
Tables
Table 1 Table 2 Table 3 Table 4
----------------------------------------------
References (20)
- Abel DW, Holloway T, Harkey M, Meier P, Ahl D, Limaye VS, and Patz JA (2018). Air-quality-related health impacts from climate change and from adaptation of cooling demand for buildings in the eastern United States: An interdisciplinary modeling study. PLOS Medicine, 15(7): e1002599. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1002599 [Google Scholar] PMid:29969461 PMCid:PMC6029751
- Bergin MH, Ghoroi C, Dixit D, Schauer JJ, and Shindell DT (2017). Large reductions in solar energy production due to dust and particulate air pollution. Environmental Science and Technology Letters, 4(8): 339-344. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.estlett.7b00197 [Google Scholar]
- Chandler DL (2018). This is how big an impact air pollution can have on solar power. World Economic Forum, Cologny, Switzerland. [Google Scholar]
- Chen S, Lu X, Nielsen CP, Geng G, He K, McElroy MB, Wang S, and Hao J (2022). Improved air quality in China can enhance solar-power performance and accelerate carbon-neutrality targets. One Earth, 5(5): 550-562. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oneear.2022.04.002 [Google Scholar]
- Isaza A, Kay M, Evans JP, Prasad A, and Bremner S (2023). Air quality impacts on rooftop photovoltaic energy production during the 2019–2020 Australian bushfires season. Solar Energy, 257: 240-248. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2023.04.014 [Google Scholar]
- Izah SC, Ogwu MC, Etim NG, Shahsavani A, and Namvar Z (2024). Short-term health effects of air pollution. In: Izah SC, Ogwu MC, and Shahsavani A (Eds.), Air pollutants in the context of one health: Fundamentals, sources, and impacts. The handbook of environmental chemistry: 279-311. Springer, Cham, Switzerland. https://doi.org/10.1007/698_2024_1132 [Google Scholar]
- Jato-Espino D, Castillo-Lopez E, Rodriguez-Hernandez J, and Ballester-Muñoz F (2018). Air quality modelling in Catalonia from a combination of solar radiation, surface reflectance and elevation. Science of the Total Environment, 624: 189-200. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.12.139 [Google Scholar] PMid:29248708
- Juliano TW, Jiménez PA, Kosović B, Eidhammer T, Thompson G, Berg LK, Fast J, Motley A, and Polidori A (2022). Smoke from 2020 United States wildfires responsible for substantial solar energy forecast errors. Environmental Research Letters, 17(3): 034010. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ac5143 [Google Scholar]
- Khan A, Ali Y, and Pamucar D (2023). Solar PV power plant site selection using a GIS-based non-linear multi-criteria optimization technique. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 30(20): 57378-57397. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-26540-1 [Google Scholar] PMid:36964806
- Mandal DK, Bose S, Biswas N, Manna NK, Cuce E, and Benim AC (2024). Solar chimney power plants for sustainable air quality management integrating photocatalysis and particulate filtration: A comprehensive review. Sustainability, 16(6): 2334. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16062334 [Google Scholar]
- Millstein D, Wiser R, Bolinger M, and Barbose G (2017). The climate and air-quality benefits of wind and solar power in the United States. Nature Energy, 2: 17134. https://doi.org/10.1038/nenergy.2017.134 [Google Scholar]
- Milton DK (2020). A Rosetta stone for understanding infectious drops and aerosols. Journal of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society, 9(4): 413-415. https://doi.org/10.1093/jpids/piaa079 [Google Scholar] PMid:32706376 PMCid:PMC7495905
- Mustafa RJ, Gomaa MR, Al-Dhaifallah M, and Rezk H (2020). Environmental impacts on the performance of solar photovoltaic systems. Sustainability, 12(2): 608. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12020608 [Google Scholar]
- Shaik F, Lingala SS, and Veeraboina P (2023). Effect of various parameters on the performance of solar PV power plant: A review and the experimental study. Sustainable Energy Research, 10: 6. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40807-023-00076-x [Google Scholar]
- Son J, Jeong S, Park H, and Park CE (2020). The effect of particulate matter on solar photovoltaic power generation over the Republic of Korea. Environmental Research Letters, 15: 084004. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ab905b [Google Scholar]
- Song Z, Liu J, and Yang H (2021). Air pollution and soiling implications for solar photovoltaic power generation: A comprehensive review. Applied Energy, 298: 117247. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2021.117247 [Google Scholar]
- Syed M, Folz RJ, and Ali U (2023). Environmental factors and their impact on airway diseases: Exploring air pollution, indoor and outdoor allergens, and climate change. Current Pulmonology Reports, 12: 162-170. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13665-023-00319-8 [Google Scholar]
- Weng Q and Yang S (2006). Urban air pollution patterns, land use, and thermal landscape: An examination of the linkage using GIS. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 117: 463-489. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-006-0888-9 [Google Scholar] PMid:16917724
- Zhang C, Shen C, Yang Q, Wei S, Lv G, and Sun C (2020). An investigation on the attenuation effect of air pollution on regional solar radiation. Renewable Energy, 161: 570-578. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2020.07.146 [Google Scholar]
- Zhou Z, Lin A, Wang L, Qin W, Zhao L, Sun S, Zhong Y, He L, and Chen F (2021). Estimation of the losses in potential concentrated solar thermal power electricity production due to air pollution in China. Science of the Total Environment, 784: 147214. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.147214 [Google Scholar] PMid:34088057
|