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The study is the result of collaboration between an international team of solar energy experts from Aalto University of Finland, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and SMART (Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology) . It analyzes the intersection of two dominant trends in the energy sector in the 21st century: the impetus for the decarbonisation of the energy sector to mitigate dangerous anthropogenic climate change. and the increased economic prosperity of tropical countries, hence a higher demand for cooling than for heating.
Specifically, the study examines whether the billions of air conditioning equipment expected in the twenty-first century could be powered by clean photovoltaic electricity, thus avoiding the additional generation of carbon-based electricity and accelerating the growth of the photovoltaic industry. In the process. Dr. Hannu Laine, lead author of the study, said: "By browsing the scientific literature, we have found many detailed theoretical and experimental studies demonstrating the synergy of small scale cooling and photovoltaics, such as isolated buildings. or communities. It is impossible to locate a single analysis assessing the scope and degree of global cooling and PV synergy. "
Another omission was the discussion of how the situation will change as global warming occurs, tropical countries gain wealth and air conditioners become more efficient. Dr. Laine adds.
The study team sought to estimate the amount of photovoltaic power generation needed to fuel global cold demand and its evolution as tropical countries become richer, global warming and technological innovation creating more efficient air conditioners. With the help of established socio-economic projections, climate change and improved energy efficiency, they predicted that the demand for cooling would rise from around 400 TWh / year in 2018 at nearly 14,000 TWh / year at the end of the century, a dramatic increase of 35 times, despite air conditioners becoming more efficient. In monetary terms, this means that the cooling industry is moving from an industry of about $ 50 billion a year to an industry of $ 1.5 trillion a year.
It was concluded that the added PV capacity added was equivalent to global PV capacity overall, or was sufficient to power the entire country in PV, and that by the end of the century it would become sufficient to meet that of India. Dr. Laine concludes: "We expect these results to generate considerable additional policy interest, as well as investments in research and business, in the synergy of cooling and solar photovoltaics."
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Material provided by Aalto University. Note: Content can be changed for style and length.
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