Can rooftop solar be deployed in China?

This study moves beyond technical estimates to assess the deployable rooftop solar potential across 367 Chinese cities, factoring in real-world constraints. The findings offer actionable insights to guide strategic deployment and support China’s ambitious solar energy goals.

Is rooftop PV self-consumption possible in China?

Therefore, this paper makes a comparative study on the rooftop PV self-consumption potential of industrial and commercial users in 20 regions of China, analyzed the impacts of different electric prices and shading conditions on the system's feasibility, provides advice for companies and policymakers to develop rooftop PV deployment.

Are solar energy resources a risk factor for rooftop PV system construction?

The study revealed that areas with abundant solar energy resources and higher electricity prices have a lower economic risk for rooftop PV system construction under the current subsidy price and cost. This finding provides valuable insights and serves as a reference for constructing rooftop PV systems in different regions of China.

Are rooftop PV systems a good investment?

For cities with rich solar energy resources (such as Mohe), rooftop PV systems can yield substantial benefits, even under high shading. However, in cities like Urumqi, despite having ample solar energy resources, the on-grid electricity prices are relatively low, leading to much lower investment returns and longer investment payback periods.

Is Guiyang a good place to build a rooftop photovoltaic system?

Compared with the cities in the same latitude belt, Guiyang has a poorer photovoltaic potential, and a single electricity price system is applied to low-capacity users, resulting in low electricity prices, which leads to low profits. Building rooftop photovoltaic systems for user self-consumption is difficult to recoup the returns.

Are rooftop solar photovoltaics sustainable?

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative Rooftop solar photovoltaics (RPV) are vital for sustainably powering cities. However, most existing studies focus on RPV’s technical or economic potential often overlook real-world electricity consumption and regulatory constraints that shape actual deployment.