Shi CHEN

Photovoltaic (PV) power, as the fastest-growing low-carbon energy, is expected to play an important role in achieving the global goals of net zero emissions and limiting global warming to 1.5 °C. In order to make PV power a benefit to the global population and drive low-carbon transitions, Shi Chen has been focusing on this field in recent years.

Given that the investment in energy infrastructure in the ‘Belt and Road Initiative’ regions has been long locked in fossil energy and the prospects of developing PV power in such regions are uncertain, Shi Chen has created a technology for assessing the technological potential of PV power based on spatial big data, systematically analyzed the PV power potential in such regions and the prospects for regional cooperation, and presented solutions to getting rid of the traditional high-carbon paths in such regions.

In the face of the high-quality development demands of PV in China under China's carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals, Shi Chen has extended the potential assessment system in depth from the technical dimension to the economic and grid dimensions, successfully established a comprehensive whole-chain assessment system of PV power, and mined the spatio-temporal evolution features of technical, economic, and grid integration potentials of combined solar PV and storage.

Facing the challenge of variability in the grid integration of PV with a high proportion of renewable energy in the new power system, Shi Chen has further developed an assessment system to analyze the reasons for spatio-temporal variability of PV power and revealed the co-benefits of air pollution control for PV power in China for the first time.

In future research, Shi Chen will further explore how to optimize the comprehensive benefits of renewable energy like PV, including but not limited to the climate, environment, poverty alleviation, and health benefits to provide decision makers with scientific development schemes.