Impact of Climate Change on Future Solar Power Production
Traditionally, for the planning and assessment of solar energy systems, the amount of solar radiation incident on the Earth’s surface is assumed to be constant over the years. However, with changing climate and air pollution levels, solar resources may no longer be stable over time and undergo substantial decadal changes. Observational records covering the past decades indeed confirm long-term changes in this quantity ("dimming and brightening"). In this activity we examine, how solar dimming and brightening as well as future changes in surface solar radiation projected by climate models may affect solar power production (PV and CSP).
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