Since China is the largest CO2 emitting country in the world, photovoltaic (PV) systems are expected to be widely installed to reduce CO2 emission. In general, available area for PV installation depends on urban area due to differences in land use and slope. Amount of electricity generated by a PV system also depends on urban area because of differences in solar irradiation and ambient temperature. The aim of this study is to evaluate the installation of large-scale PV systems in suburbs of China, taking these differences into consideration. We have used a geographic information system (GIS) to evaluate amounts of installation capacity of large-scale PV systems, electricity generated, and CO2 emission reduction by the installation capacity of large-scale PV systems in suburbs of Liaoning, Shanghai, Anhui, and Guangdong. In Liaoning, the amount of CO2 emission reduction by the installation capacity of large-scale PV systems was estimated to be the largest, 3,058？kt-CO2/yr, due to its larger amount of the installation capacity, 2439.4？MW, than the amount of the installation capacity in other regions. 1. Introduction According to the World Energy Outlook of IEA, the demand of annual primary energy in China is expected to be 3,737 Mtoe by 2035, about 1.8 times the energy consumption of China in 2008 [1]. In addition, China exhausts the most amount of CO2 and has emitted 6877.2 Mt-CO2 in 2009 [2]. Therefore, China has a large potential to reduce CO2 emission in the Asian region, and the CO2 emission reduction in China has an impact on the global warming. The Chinese government currently focuses on renewable energy to reduce CO2 emission. In the 12th Five Year Plan for Renewable Energy Development (2011–2015), the share of renewable forms of energy such as hydropower, wind, solar, and biomass is to be increased. Although the installed photovoltaic (PV) capacity was around 700？MW at the year-end 2010, and the State Council, China’s national cabinet, has now raised the target for solar energy to an unprecedented level of 9？GW of PV installations by 2015 [3]. Thus, it is expected that large-scale PV systems will be widely installed in order to achieve this target. There are few studies regarding installation of PV systems in China. Zhang et al. estimated cumulative installation of PV cells for large-scale PV power in China considering subsidy on PV installation and the electricity supply mix [4]. Ito et al. designed a very large-scale PV of 100？MW system in Gobi desert [5]. Byrne et al. assessed the economics and livelihoods impacts of stand-alone, small-scale
References
[1]
IEA, World Energy Outlook 2010, The International Energy Agency, 2010.
[2]
IEA, CO2 Emissions from Fuel Combustion Highlights, The International Energy Agency, 2011.
[3]
M. Hart, China Goes Solar as America Stumbles New Five-Year Plan Boasts Big Ambitions, Center for American Progress, 2011.
[4]
D. Zhang, Q. Chai, X. Zhang et al., “Economical assessment of large-scale photovoltaic power development in China,” Energy, vol. 40, no. 1, pp. 370–375, 2012.
[5]
M. Ito, K. Kato, H. Sugihara, T. Kichimi, J. Song, and K. Kurokawa, “A preliminary study on potential for very large-scale photovoltaic power generation (VLS-PV) system in the Gobi desert from economic and environmental viewpoints,” Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells, vol. 75, no. 3-4, pp. 507–517, 2003.
[6]
J. Byrne, A. Zhou, B. Shen, and K. Hughes, “Evaluating the potential of small-scale renewable energy options to meet rural livelihoods needs: a GIS- and lifecycle cost-based assessment of Western China's options,” Energy Policy, vol. 35, no. 8, pp. 4391–4401, 2007.
[7]
SWERA, “Solar: monthly and annual average latitude tilt GIS data at 40？km resolution for China from NREL,” 2005, http://en.openei.org/apps/SWERA.
[8]
J. A. Carrión, A. E. Estrella, F. A. Dols, and A. R. Ridao, “The electricity production capacity of photovoltaic power plants and the selection of solar energy sites in Andalusia (Spain),” Renewable Energy, vol. 33, no. 4, pp. 545–552, 2008.
[9]
Beijing GeoTechway, “China resources and environment 1？km resolution grid data sets,” 2003.
[10]
China Historical GIS, “DEM raster dataset,” 2013, http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~chgis/.
[11]
NREL, Potential for Development of Solar and Wind Resource in Bhutan, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, 2009.
[12]
K. Kawajiri, T. Oozeki, and Y. Genchi, “Effect of temperature on PV potential in the world,” Environmental Science and Technology, vol. 45, no. 20, pp. 9030–9035, 2011.
[13]
NEDO, For Effective Performance of Photovoltaic System, New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization, 2010.
[14]
Japan Meteorological Agency, The World Surface Data, Japan Metrological Business Support Center, 2009.
[15]
Editorial committee of China Electric Power Yearbook, China Electric Power Yearbook 2011, China Electric Power Press, 2011.
[16]
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change-Executive Board, “ACM0002: consolidated baseline methodology for grid connected electricity generation from renewable sources—version 12.2.0,” 2011.
[17]
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change-Executive Board, “Methodological tool “Tool to calculate the emission factor for an electricity system” (version 02.2.1),” 2012, http://cdm .unfccc.int/methodologies/PAmethodologies/tools/am-tool-07-v2.2.1.pdf.
[18]
National Development and Reform Commission, “2011 baseline emission factors for regional power grids in China,” 2011, http://cdm.ccchina.g ov.cn/WebSite/CDM/UpFile/File2720.pdf.
[19]
State Grid Corporation of China, “The new record of the peak power demand in Liaoning,” 2010, http://www.indaa.com.cn/zt/hlgc/dbdw/201011/t20101117_450261.html.
[20]
Guangdong Grid Corporation of China, “The power demand in Guangdong exceeded ten billion,” 2011, http://news.sohu.com/20111221/n329794116.shtml.
