1.6 Million transactions replicate distributed PV market slowdown by COVID-19 lockdown.
Haoran Zhang, Jinyue Yan, Qing Yu, Michael Obersteiner, Wenjing Li, Jinyu Chen, Qiong Zhang, Mingkun Jiang, Fredrik Wallin, Xuan Song, Jiang Wu, Xin Wang, Ryosuke Shibasaki
Author Information
Haoran Zhang: Center for Spatial Information Science, The University of Tokyo 5-1-5 Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa-shi, Chiba 277-8568, Japan.
Jinyue Yan: Future Energy Center, Malardalen University, 721 23 Vasteras, Sweden.
Qing Yu: Center for Spatial Information Science, The University of Tokyo 5-1-5 Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa-shi, Chiba 277-8568, Japan.
Michael Obersteiner: International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), Forestry Program, Schlossplatz 1, A-2361 Laxenburg, Austria.
Wenjing Li: Center for Spatial Information Science, The University of Tokyo 5-1-5 Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa-shi, Chiba 277-8568, Japan.
Jinyu Chen: Center for Spatial Information Science, The University of Tokyo 5-1-5 Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa-shi, Chiba 277-8568, Japan.
Qiong Zhang: Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo 5-1-5 Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa-shi, Chiba 277-8568, Japan.
Mingkun Jiang: Future Energy Center, Malardalen University, 721 23 Vasteras, Sweden.
Fredrik Wallin: Future Energy Center, Malardalen University, 721 23 Vasteras, Sweden.
Xuan Song: Southern University of Science and Technology-University of Tokyo Joint Research Center for Super Smart Cities, Department of Computer and Engineering, Southern, University of Science and Technology, 518055 Shenzhen, Guangdong, China.
Jiang Wu: MOE Joint International Research Lab of Eco Urban Design, College of Architecture and Urban Planning, Tongji University, No.1239 Siping Rd., Shanghai 200092, China.
Xin Wang: MOE Joint International Research Lab of Eco Urban Design, College of Architecture and Urban Planning, Tongji University, No.1239 Siping Rd., Shanghai 200092, China.
Ryosuke Shibasaki: Center for Spatial Information Science, The University of Tokyo 5-1-5 Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa-shi, Chiba 277-8568, Japan.
Solar PV has seen a spectacular market development in recent years and has become a cost competitive source of electricity in many parts of the world. Yet, prospective observations show that the coronavirus pandemic could impact renewable energy projects, especially in the distributed market. Tracking and attributing the economic footprint of COVID-19 lockdowns in the photovoltaic sector poses a significant research challenge. Based on millions of financial transaction records and 44 thousand photovoltaic installation records, we tracked the spatio-temporal sale network of the distributed photovoltaic market and explored the extent of market slowdown. We found that a two-month lockdown duration can be assessed as a high-risk threshold value. When the lockdown duration exceeds the threshold value, the monthly value-added loss reaches 67.7%, and emission reduction capacity is cut by 64.2% over the whole year. We show that risks of a slowdown in PV deployment due to COVID-19 lockdowns can be mitigated by comprehensive incentive strategies for the distributed PV market amid market uncertainties.
