Wind and solar farms are known to have a local effect on heat, humidity, and other factors that may be helpful — or harmful — for the regions in which they are located. New climate model shows that massive wind and solar installations in the Sahara desert and nearby Sahel can increase local temperature, precipitation and vegetation. In General, according to the researchers, the consequences of placing such farms will bring the region’s favor.
The study, published in the journal Science, is one of the first modeling climatic effects of wind and solar installations and takes into account how vegetation responds to changes in heat and rain, said lead author Yang Li from the University of Illinois.
The Greening Of The Sahara
“Previous research modeling has shown that large-scale wind and solar farms can cause significant climate change on a continental scale,” says Lee. “But the lack of feedback from vegetation can lead to the fact that the simulated climate impacts will be very different in reality.”
Sahara for a new study was chosen for several reasons. First, it is the largest desert in the world. It is also poorly populated, highly sensitive to changes in the soil, is in Africa, close to Europe and the Middle East, which have large and growing energy needs.
Model wind and solar farms modeled in the study, will encompass more than 9 million square kilometers and, on average, to produce about 3 terawatts and 79 terawatts of electricity, respectively.
“In 2017, global energy demand was only 18 terawatts, so there is obviously more energy than is required throughout the world,” Lee says. The placement of wind farms in the desert, according to the model, should cause a regional increase in surface temperature with large changes in minimum temperatures than maximum. This warming, in turn, will lead to an increase in vegetation cover that would also be helpful.
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Large wind and solar farms in the Sahara can make the desert green and wet
Ilya Hel