A study in the journal Atmospheric Environment found that replacing 17% of electricity generation with solar photovoltaic in the Eastern United States would reduce pollution, save lives, and result in $13 billion in savings in health care expenditures. It found that nitrogen oxides (NOx) and sulfur dioxide (SO2) would decrease 20 and 15%, and fine particles (PM2.5) would decrease 4.7%. It estimated that the decrease in air pollution would prevent about 1400 premature deaths and result in about $13 billion in savings on health care expenditures.
Clean energy saves lives, prevents suffering (ask someone who has asthma or COPD what an exacerbation is like), benefits public health, and results in large savings in health care expenditures. This study evaluated replacing a modest amount of electricity with solar photovoltaic, and found major benefits.
