Scientists using satellite technologies have discovered for the first time that large scale solar parks have a cooling effect on the land surrounding them.
Scientists using satellite technologies have discovered for the first time that large scale solar parks have a cooling effect on the land surrounding them.
As more countries pledge to achieve net zero carbon emissions there will be a greater reliance on renewable energy sources, such as wind turbines and solar energy. However, there is very little evidence on the impacts large-scale solar farms have on the local environment. It is therefore really important to understand climate impacts as this affects the ecological responses.
The team of scientists, from Lancaster University, Ludong University in China, and the University of California Davis in the USA focused on two large-scale solar parks located in arid locations – the 300 MW Stateline solar park in California USA, and the 850 MW Longyangxia solar park in China.
The researchers used land surface temperature data derived from Landsat satellite images, an approach not previously applied to solar parks. This enabled the study team to compare the land surface temperatures around solar parks before and after the solar parks were constructed. The satellite data was supplemented by on the ground temperature measurements around Stateline solar park.
Read more at: Lancaster University
L-R: Stateline Solar Park, Dr Alona Armstrong taking a soil surface measurement, Dr Alona Armstrong and Dr Rebecca R. Hernandez walking a soil surface transect, Creosote bush (Larrea tridentata), a dominant evergreen shrub found in the Ivanpah Valley, where Stateline PV Solar Park is located. (Photo Credit: Dr Rebecca R. Hernandez, University of California Davis)
