India lost almost a third of its solar power potential between 2001 and 2018 due to air pollution, scientists have found, in a blow to the country's clean energy transition.
A study by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi said the country lost 29 per cent of its utilisable “global horizontal irradiance potential”, or the radiation that generates solar power, over the 17-year period.
India dominates the list of cities that have particle pollution levels more than 20 times the World Health Organization guidelines. Nine of the world’s 10 most polluted cities are in South Asian country.
Health experts regularly warn that air pollution is a leading cause of death – killing 1.25 million people in India every year and seven million globally – but the impact on renewable energy is less reported.
For the study, the IIT scientists considered the “soiling effect”, which is the presence of solid dust, and “atmospheric attenuation”, the scattering of light due to gaseous pollutants in the air.
According to the team, India could have relied less on fossil fuels for power if it had met its clean air targets by generating more renewable energy.
India aims to reach net zero emissions by 2070 and to meet fifty percent of its electricity requirements from renewable energy sources by 2030.
The researchers said that if the National Clean Air Programme is successfully implemented – reducing aerosol pollution by 20-30 per cent by 2024 compared to 2017 levels – and household emissions are mitigated through cleaner fuel, the additional solar energy generated would translate to an “economic benefit of $325-845 million annually”.
The researchers said the impact of attenuation and soiling was “greatest” in the eastern power grid, “with 16 per cent less sunlight reaching horizontal solar panels” in the period.
Protect yourself and your family by learning more about Global Health Security
