Researchers map where solar energy delivers the biggest climate payoff

Summary

Using advanced computational modeling, a Rutgers professor, in collaboration with researchers from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Stony Brook University, reveal both the immediate and delayed climate benefits of solar power Increasing solar power generation in the United States by 15% could lead to an annual reduction of 8.54 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions, according to researchers at Rutgers, the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Stony Brook University. The study, published in Science Advances, found that the climate benefits of solar power differ markedly throughout U.S. regions, pinpointing where clean energy investments return the greatest climate dividends. In 2023, 60% of U.S. electricity generation relied on fossil fuels, while 3.9% came from solar, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Because fossil fuel-generated electricity is a leading source of carbon dioxide, or CO2, and harmful air pollutants such as fine particulate matter, expanding solar could not only mitigate CO2 but help reduce illness, hospitalizations and premature deaths linked to air pollution exposure. From a computer science perspective, this study demonstrates the power of harnessing large-scale, high-resolution energy data to generate actionable insights. Arpita Biswas Assistant Professor, Department of Computer Science, Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences Researchers examined five years of hourly electricity generation, demand and emissions data from the Energy Information Administration starting July 1, 2018. They focused on the 13 geographic regions in the United States. With this dataset, the researchers constructed a statistical model to explore how increases in hourly solar energy generation would affect CO2 emissions within a given region and in its neighboring regions. The study quantified both immediate and delayed emissions reductions resulting from added solar generation. For example, the researchers found that...