Outdoor large-capacity solar power generation

What is the difference between solar energy generation and installed solar capacity?

Solar energy generation, measured in gigawatt-hours (GWh) versus installed solar capacity, measured in gigawatts (GW).

How has solar energy generating capacity changed over the years?

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative Photovoltaic (PV) solar energy generating capacity has grown by 41 per cent per year since 20091. Energy system projections that mitigate climate change and aid universal energy access show a nearly ten-fold increase in PV solar energy generating capacity by 20402,3.

What is solar photovoltaic power generation?

Among various renewable energy sources, solar photovoltaic (PV) power generation is expedient owing to abundant solar irradiance availability, prolific improvement in cell power conversion efficiency, and low maintenance cost.

How much solar power does the world have?

Renewable energy sources now contribute a significant fraction of the world’s energy mix 1, 2, and this is set to grow. However, estimates of current capacity are surprisingly uncertain: as of 2018, the world’s solar photovoltaic (PV) installed capacity was estimated by BloombergNEF as 526 GW, REN21 as 505 GW 2, and by IRENA as 486 GW 3.

Can large-scale PV power generation save water?

On the other hand, the installed capacity of coal-based power generation and hydropower generation together makes up nearly 80% of China's total installed capacity. Therefore, large amount of water will be saved if the current power generation can be substituted by large-scale PV power generation.

Where does China have a large-scale solar power generation potential?

Especially, more than 85% of large-scale PV generation potential concentrated on Northwest China and Inner Mongolia, where with coal-based power generation structure and developed inter-regional transmission network, accounting for 45% of China's land territory but only 10% of China's water resources [ 8 ].