Ground-mounted photovoltaic solar parks promote land surface cool islands in arid ecosystems

Li, Guoqing; Hernandez, Rebecca R.; Blackburn, George Alan; Davies, Gemma; Hunt, Merryn; Whyatt, J. Duncan; Armstrong, Alona

doi:10.1016/j.rset.2021.100008

Cited by 13 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…These microclimatic changes could, in turn, induce changes in the ecosystem, for example, in the form of altered vegetation, plant and soil biodiversity, and soil carbon cycling [12][13][14]. Changes to land surface temperature (LST) are particularly important because it is related to near-surface and underground processes that directly influence ecosystem functions [15,16] but can also influence ecosystems indirectly via soil moisture-temperature feedbacks [17]. Countries such as the United States, India, and China are currently experiencing or have already undergone a booming phase in PV energy [5], which is predicted to induce environmental impacts.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…At the same time, the Gobi Desert is an ecologically fragile ecosystem characterized by high variable microclimatic conditions, low plant cover, and low biodiversity [34,35]. However, previous studies on the influence of PV plants in the Gobi Desert have mainly relied on field observations and model simulations [16,36]. Remote sensing based on satellite data has been widely applied to measure heat-and cool-island effects caused by land use changes [37,38] and offers a potential large-scale means of quantifying the LST changes caused by PV power plants [16].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, previous studies on the influence of PV plants in the Gobi Desert have mainly relied on field observations and model simulations [16,36]. Remote sensing based on satellite data has been widely applied to measure heat-and cool-island effects caused by land use changes [37,38] and offers a potential large-scale means of quantifying the LST changes caused by PV power plants [16]. Compared to in situ field observation, remote sensing technology allows the comparison and analysis of temperature data before and after the construction of PV power plants.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Diurnal Asymmetry Effects of Photovoltaic Power Plants on Land Surface Temperature in Gobi Deserts

Wang,

Zhou,

Zhang

et al. 2024

Remote Sensing

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The global expansion of photovoltaic (PV) power plants, especially in ecologically fragile regions like the Gobi Desert, highlights the suitability of such areas for large-scale PV development. The most direct impact of PV development in the Gobi Desert is temperature change that results from the land-use-induced albedo changes; however, the detailed and systemic understanding of the effects of PV expansion on land surface temperature remains limited. This study focuses on the 16 largest PV plants in the Chinese Gobi Desert, utilizing remote sensing data to assess their effects on land surface temperature. Our result showed a cooling effect during the daytime (−0.69 ± 0.10 °C), but a warming effect during the nighttime (0.23 ± 0.05 °C); the overall effect on the daily mean was a cooling effect (−0.22 ± 0.05 °C). Seasonal variations were observed, with the most significant cooling effect in autumn and the weakest in summer. The PV area was the most significant factor which influenced the temperature variation across PV plants. Our findings enrich our understanding of the environmental effects arising from the construction of PV plants and provide vital information for the design and management of increasingly renewable electricity systems globally.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Diurnal Asymmetry Effects of Photovoltaic Power Plants on Land Surface Temperature in Gobi Deserts

Wang,

Zhou,

Zhang

et al. 2024

Remote Sensing

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“…In natural environments, solar energy has impacts on host ecosystems and their services that humans depend on (Tsoutsos et al, 2005;Armstrong et al, 2016;Moore-O'Leary et al, 2017;Grodsky et al, 2021). Several studies have found that ground-mounted solar energy, specifically PV, can impact air temperature, photosynthetically available radiation, rate of photosynthesis (Armstrong et al, 2016;Choi et al, 2020;Guoqing et al, 2021). Additionally, solar energy can impact plant diversity, abundance, and demography (Hernandez et al, 2020a;Tanner et al, 2020), and soil moisture creating unique microclimates under and around solar arrays (Tanner et al, 2020(Tanner et al, , 2021.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Standardized metrics to quantify solar energy-land relationships: A global systematic review

Cagle

Shepherd²,

Grodsky³

et al. 2023

Front. Sustain.

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Ground-mounted solar energy installations, including photovoltaics (PV) and concentrating solar power (CSP), can have significant environmental, ecological, and sociocultural effects via land-use and land-cover change (LULCC). Research in disciplines ranging from engineering to environmental policy seeks to quantify solar energy-land (SE-land) interactions to better understand the comprehensive impacts of solar energy installations on society. However, increasing evidence shows that scholars across research disciplines employ disparate metrics to quantify SE-land interactions. While solar energy deployment helps to achieve progress toward sustainable development goals (SDG 7- affordable and clean energy), the inconsistent use of metrics to describe SE-land interactions may inhibit the understanding of the total environmental and ecological impacts of solar energy installations, potentially causing barriers to achieve concurrent SDG's such as life on land (SDG 15). We systematically reviewed 608 sources on SE-land relationships globally to identify and assess the most frequent metric terms and units used in published studies. In total, we identified 51 unique metric terms and 34 different units of measure describing SE-land relationships across 18 countries of author origin. We organized these findings into three distinct metric categories: (1) capacity-based (i.e., nominal), (2) generation-based, and (3) human population-based. We used the most frequently reported terms and units in each category to inform a standardized suite of metrics, which are: land-use efficiency (W/m2), annual and lifetime land transformation (m2/Wh), and solar footprint (m2/capita). This framework can facilitate greater consistency in the reporting of SE-land metrics and improved capacity for comparison and aggregations of trends, including SE-land modeling projections. Our study addresses the need for standardization while acknowledging the role for future methodological advancements. The results of our study may help guide scholars toward a common vernacular and application of metrics to inform decisions about solar energy development.

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“…The environmental impact of photovoltaic panels varies according to latitude and altitude [31]. Installing photovoltaics in arid areas reduces the solar radiation absorbed by the surface under the PV panels, which creates a cold island effect that affects the surrounding area of the photovoltaic power station [32], reduces water evaporation, and increases vegetation growth [33]. Different underlying surfaces have different natural conditions that alter the environmental effects of the photovoltaic panels.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

et al. 2023

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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 km2 of PV panels in coastal China in 2021, which included 254.47 km2 of planar photovoltaic (PPV) panels, 170.70 km2 of slope photovoltaic (SPV) panels, and 85.61 km2 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).

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Ground-mounted photovoltaic solar parks promote land surface cool islands in arid ecosystems

Cited by 13 publications

References 40 publications

Diurnal Asymmetry Effects of Photovoltaic Power Plants on Land Surface Temperature in Gobi Deserts

Diurnal Asymmetry Effects of Photovoltaic Power Plants on Land Surface Temperature in Gobi Deserts

Standardized metrics to quantify solar energy-land relationships: A global systematic review

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

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