New research has found the smog and dust that sickens millions across India every year is also sapping solar power generation by more than 25 percent and these huge energy losses will only compound as India realises its grand solar ambitions.
The grimy coating that man-made pollutants deposit on solar panels is very effective at blocking light, and tricky to remove.
But there is little appetite for gloomy projections as India’s solar sector undergoes an unprecedented boom.
Dr Andre Noble, an expert on the effect of haze on solar generation, found little interest when he presented his findings at a solar summit in Delhi last month.
The putrid skies blocking out the sun also have a far more sinister impact: premature deaths from smog have steadily climbed in India to nearly 1.1 million in 2015.
This shadow cast over India’s solar success story should encourage policymakers to redouble efforts to clean the skies, said Professor Chinmay Ghoroi, who co-authored the paper.
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Source: Agence France Presse, 3 September 2017