Enhancement of solar photovoltaic potentials in central and eastern China due to "Clean Air Actions"

The Chinese central and eastern (CCE) regions are both densely populated and heavily polluted, as well as deeply energy-demanding areas. Meanwhile, improvement of air quality occurred in these regions due to "Clean Air Actions" since 2013, probably resulting in increase in surface solar radiation (SSR). This study identified the major drivers of interannual variations in photovoltaic (PV) potentials during 2014-2019 using the CERES_SYN1deg_Ed4.1 product, and we found that the decrease in aerosol radiative effect (ARE) was suggested to be the main influencing factor for the increase in SSR. Compared to 2014, the annual PV potentials per kilowatt-peak (kWp) in the CCE regions increased by 5, 37, 70, 67, and 70 kWh/kWp in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019, respectively. Our results highlight that the Clean Air Actions can ‌not only enhance the PV potentials‌ but also alleviate the spatial mismatch between energy supply and demand in the CCE regions.