Mapping Photovoltaic Panels in Coastal China Using Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 Images and Google Earth Engine

Photovoltaic (PV) panels convert sunlight into electricity, and play a crucial role in energy decarbonization, and in promoting urban resources and environmental sustainability. The area of PV panels in China's coastal regions is rapidly increasing, due to the huge demand for renewable energy. However, a rapid, accurate, and robust PV panel mapping approach, and a practical PV panel classification strategy for large-scale applications have not been established. Here, we developed a new approach that uses spectral and textural features to identify and map the PV panels there were in coastal China in 2021 using multispectral instrument (MSI) and synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images, and the Google Earth Engine (GEE), to differentiate PV panels according to their underlying surface properties. Our 10-m-spatial-resolution PV panel map had an overall accuracy of 94.31% in 2021. There was 510.78 km(2) of PV panels in coastal China in 2021, which included 254.47 km(2) of planar photovoltaic (PPV) panels, 170.70 km(2) of slope photovoltaic (SPV) panels, and 85.61 km(2) of water photovoltaic (WPV) panels. Our resultant PV panel map provides a detailed dataset for renewable layouts, ecological assessments, and the energy-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Automated summary

Photovoltaic (PV) panels in China's coastal regions are rapidly increasing, but a rapid and accurate mapping method and practical classification strategy have not been established. In this study, we developed a new approach using spectral and textural features to identify and map the PV panels in coastal China in 2021. Our 10-m-spatial-resolution PV panel map had an overall accuracy of 94.31% in 2021. The dataset provides valuable information for renewable layouts, ecological assessments, and energy-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).