Photovoltaic Desert Energy Storage

Are desert areas suitable for building photovoltaic power stations?

As is shown in Fig. S1, most desert areas are suitable for building photovoltaic power stations when considering three factors: slope, distance from fresh water resources, and solar irradiation, especially deserts in Australia and Africa.

Are desert photovoltaics good for the environment?

Overall, the large-scale development of desert photovoltaics in Gonghe County has had a positive impact on the ecological environment.

Can a desert solar park power a transcontinental power network?

In China, the Tengger Desert Solar Park with a solar generation capacity of 1.5 GW and an area of 43 square kilometers could power over 1,800,000 people (13). In this research, we conceptualize a desert PV-based power network for transcontinental power interconnection.

Could large solar farms in the Sahara Desert redistribute solar power?

Large solar farms in the Sahara Desert could redistribute solar power generation potential locally as well as globally through disturbance of large-scale atmospheric teleconnections, according to simulations with an Earth system model.

Does PV power station deployment affect desert vegetation?

Previous remote sensing studies of a few PV power stations have demonstrated that the PV power station deployment does not significantly alter desert vegetation (Edalat and Stephen, 2017; Potter, 2016).

Can desert photovoltaic power replace coal-fired power?

In the future carbon-neutral scenario, photovoltaic power from deserts is one of the optimal choices to completely replace coal-fired power (12). Large desert photovoltaic power stations have been successfully and repeatedly practiced in the world.