A research team from George Mason University Korea has investigated the effect of air pollution on solar power generation in South Korea and has found that even a small amount of particulates in the air may result in significant economic losses for PV system operators.
“This study reveals that air pollution significantly hampers solar power production in South Korea,” the research's lead author, Moon Joon Kim, told pv magazine. “We found that even small increases in air pollution can lead to substantial drops in the amount of electricity solar panels can generate, costing millions of dollars annually. This highlights the urgent need to clean up our air, not just for our health, but also to unlock the full potential of solar energy as a clean and affordable alternative to fossil fuels.”
The scientists sought to quantify, in particular, the magnitude of sunlight-absorbing coarse particulate matter (PM10) on solar power generation and looked into how this impact can vary over time or show lagged effects. Their analysis also considered the soiling effects caused by these particulates and relied on a dataset providing hourly data for PV power production, air pollution, and meteorological conditions in South Korea from 2006 to 2013.
The group also took into account wind direction to obtain accurate estimates of the potential endogeneity of PM10. “We employ the Newey-West instrumental variable regression model, using wind direction as an instrument for PM10,” it explained. “This approach allows us to obtain unbiased estimates of the causal relationship between air pollution and solar power generation.”
The analysis showed that a 10 mg/m3 increase in PM10 concentration resulted in an overall 2.17 MWh reduction in hourly solar power generation or a total loss of 152.2 GWh. Considering solar electricity prices in South Korea, the researchers estimated these values translate into a loss of approximately KRW 240 million ($182.7 million) for the whole country's PV system fleet during the analyzed period.
Their findings were described in the study “Air pollution and solar photovoltaic power generation: evidence from South Korea,” published in Energy Economics. “Our research provides compelling evidence that tackling air pollution is a crucial step towards a greener and more sustainable future for South Korea and other countries looking to expand their use of solar power,” Kim concluded.
The group also noted that fine particulates (PM2.5) also affect solar radiation and said future research should explore their impact alongside PM10. “Future research could build upon these findings by extending the analysis to other geographical contexts, investigating the impact of specific air pollutants, exploring the role of technological advancements in mitigating air pollution's effects on solar panels, and examining the distributional consequences of air pollution on solar power generation across different socioeconomic groups,” it stressed.
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