Evaluation of Photovoltaic Energy Saving Potential and Investment Value of Urban Buildings in China Based on GIS Technology

The environmental and energy crisis has become a problem that can not be ignored in today’s world and improving the proportion of renewable energy utilization is an important way to alleviate the problem. China has begun to vigorously develop rooftop photovoltaic systems, and it is urgent to analyze the photovoltaic potential of the country. In this paper, GIS technology is used to calculate the available area of a PV system on the roof of urban buildings in China. The installed capacity and annual power generation of a PV system on the roof of urban buildings in China are further calculated, and the investment cost analysis of the buildings with a PV system is carried out. The results show that Chinese mainland city rooftop photovoltaic area has reached 3.35 billion m². If urban roofs are used for photovoltaic power generation in China, the annual photovoltaic power generation capacity will be 672 billion kWh, which is about 61% of the total annual electricity consumption of the whole society in 2020. On the other hand, the initial investment in the construction of an urban photovoltaic system is large, but most of them can realize the return of investment in a short period of 8–10 years. Moreover, in the effective life of the follow-up photovoltaic system, it will bring greater economic benefits, which is more than two times the initial investment. To further promote the process of social carbon peak and carbon neutrality in China, the construction of an urban photovoltaic system is very feasible.

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