PUMPING aerosol particles into the atmosphere to create a sunshade could take a heavier toll on solar power generation than expected.
For every 1 per cent of the sun’s rays deflected into space, the average output of solar systems that rely on direct sunlight would drop by 4 to 5 per cent, says Daniel Murphy at the US in Boulder, Colorado. Geoengineers propose scattering 1 to 2 per cent of sunlight.
Aerosols scatter the light that hits them, but only 20 to 25 per cent of that is reflected into space. The rest reaches the…
