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The use of solar power generation is rapidly increasing, especially in developing regions in tropical regions. This is because countries are working to achieve their carbon neutrality goals. However, new research shows that when demand exceeds supply for at least three days, solar power usage also involves a solar power shortage (drought). Such shortages can leave millions without exploiting their cooling and cooking capabilities.
Yadong Lei and colleagues analyse the global supply and demand for solar power generation from 1984 to 2014, looking for examples of these three-day shortages and their occurrence conditions. During that time, the western US, eastern Brazil, southeast Asia and most of Africa experienced at least five solar droughts per year, with solar droughts increasing at a rate of 0.76 additional shortfalls per decade.
This rate increase is responsible for 29% of weather-driven solar droughts that have occurred over 30 years. The findings are published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.
The solar drought is driven by a combination of rising temperatures that increase demand for cooling and bad weather, and light-blocking contamination that curbs electricity generation, researchers found. Low solar power is usually a problem during periods of high cooling demand.
The researchers also modeled how the frequency and severity of solar power changes in various emission scenarios, assuming modern infrastructure. Under the shared socioeconomic pathway 2-4.5, researchers, the theoretical medium emission pathway used in projections by the Intergovernmental Commission on Climate Change, predicted that by the 2090s solar drought would be more than seven times higher and 1.3 times more severe. In a low-emission scenario, solar drought peaks in the 2060s, with low emissions and low heat waves diminished.
The findings illustrate the importance of adopting mitigation measures and clean energy sources to reduce emissions, the authors say. Doing so could lead to a “cooler and cleaner future.”
More details: Yadong Lei et al., Global solar drought due to imbalance in supply and demand has been exacerbated by anthropogenic climate change, Geophysical Research (2024). doi:10.1029/2024GL112162
The story has been reissued courtesy of EOS, hosted by the American Geophysics Union. Read the original story here.
Quote: Solar power shortages are increasing due to increased demand and climate change (April 16, 2025) April 16, 2025 https://phys.org/news/2025-04-solar-power-shortages-demand-climate.html
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