How to identify the year of solar installation in China?

Then, we utilize 30-meter resolution Landsat time series images and employ the CCDC method to identify the installation year of each solar power plant, covering the period from 2010 to 2019, which is the decade with the most significant growth of PV installations in China.

Why are photovoltaic installations moving eastward in China?

In contrast, it has moved southeastward annually from 2013 to 2019, to reduce transportation losses and costs, photovoltaic installations are gradually in the densely populated eastern region in China, and the photovoltaic to urban distance can also reflect this trend (Fig. 5 b).

How long will China's photovoltaic power stations last?

From the perspective of photovoltaic scrap time, suppose the lifetime of photovoltaics to be 25 years (Libra et al.,2023), it can be inferred from Fig. 3 b and Fig. 4 c that China's photovoltaic power stations will face widespread scrapping starting from 2038, which highlights the importance of planning for areas to be decommissioned.

Should photovoltaic power stations be reusing recycling centers?

Moreover, the ‘U’ shape of shift also discloses the potential of reusing recycling centers when planning waste recycling, particularly for photovoltaic installations placed in later years, since there is a highly likelihood that they will overlap with areas adjacent to earlier photovoltaic power stations.

How many MT of PV panels are there in 2019?

The total PV panel material stocks reached 11 Mt in 2019 (supplementary materials Table S4), including but not limited to 1.8 Mt (16 %) Al as the most significant among the four materials, followed by Si at 87 kt, Cu at 81 kt, and Ag at 6 kt.