In clean energy race, China may have a lot more scope for rooftop solar than US

Just 11 per cent of roofs are suitable but they amount to an area of more than 14,000 sq km – 75 per cent more than in US, Chinese government study finds

Researchers say there’s ‘huge potential’ in densely populated provinces but more remote regions are better suited to large-scale facilities

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Rooftop solar panels will have “an important role” in achieving carbon neutrality by 2060, Chinese government researchers say. Photo: Barcroft Media via Getty Images

Published: 9:30pm, 20 Dec 2021Updated: 10:18pm, 20 Dec 2021

China has 75 per cent more rooftop space for solar panels than the United States, but its more sparsely populated regions remain better suited to large-scale solar farms, according to a Chinese government study.

There are a few requirements for installing solar panels on a roof. In the northern hemisphere they should not face north, and the roof should not be too steep, shaded by trees, or likely to be covered by snow for too long.

Given that, researchers at the Ministry of Natural Resources in Beijing estimate that solar panels could only be installed on about 11 per cent of rooftops across China.

Still, they found that the combined area of those rooftops was more than 14,000 sq km (5,405 sq miles) – or three-quarters more than the area available for solar panels in the United States.

In China, most roofs that could be used for solar panels to generate renewable energy are located in developed areas along the east coast. Given their high population densities and thriving economies, these areas also have the incentive and ability to install solar panels on existing or new buildings on a large scale, and in a relatively short time, according to the researchers led by Zhang Tao, a senior remote sensing engineer at the ministry.