Quantifying effects of solar power adoption on CO<sub>2</sub> emissions reduction.
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 40737395.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1126/sciadv.adq5660 and PMC identifier 12309663.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
We quantify the effect of solar power adoption in reducing carbon dioxide (CO<sub>2</sub>) emissions from the US electricity sector using 5 years of Energy Information Administration data, starting 1 July 2018. By tailoring a distributed lag statistical model, we estimate the immediate and time-lagged effects of increased solar generation on reducing CO<sub>2</sub> emissions within a region. Our analysis highlights how solar adoption in one region affects CO<sub>2</sub> emissions in neighboring regions, emphasizing the potential for collaborative efforts. We estimate that a 15% increase in solar generation is associated with an annual reduction of 8.54 million metric tons (MMT) of CO<sub>2</sub> emissions, contributing 12.38% toward the yearly target of 69 MMT CO<sub>2</sub> reductions needed to cut 1380 MMT of CO<sub>2</sub> in 20 years, as per the Environmental Protection Agency rule on fossil fuel power plants. This study offers insights for policymakers and stakeholders in achieving CO<sub>2</sub> reduction targets through increased solar generation.