The world population is growing and more and more buildings are being built. A research team has now calculated that the global roof surface (currently 0.25 million square kilometers) will grow by as much as 52 percent by 2080. This offers potential for solar energy.
The team led by Siddharth Joshi from the Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) in Laxenburg near Vienna has developed a new mechanical method that uses data from around 700 million building floor plans, global land cover, and information on roads and population density. The scientists used this to investigate how roof areas will increase in 2080 under five different future scenarios.
One result: Global roof area is 0.25 million square kilometers and built area is 1.46 million square kilometers. Asia had the largest share, followed by Europe, North America and Africa. By 2025, that could increase to 52 percent. The team predicted the African continent to have the largest growth.
“Solar energy potential for emerging countries”
These figures have also been used to explore the potential of solar energy. “Rooftop solar offers significant potential for emerging markets. Our dataset can contribute to more realistic planning of decentralized solar energy systems and thus require sustainable energy solutions,” says Joshi.
In 2019, buildings consumed about a fifth (18 percent) of the electricity generated globally each year and contributed slightly more (21 percent) to greenhouse gas emissions. As populations grow and more new homes are built, demand for electricity and building materials will increase, it is said.
The research was published in the journal Scientific Data.
Source: Krone
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