Observed impacts of utility-scale photovoltaic plant on local air temperature and energy partitioning in the barren areas

Jiang, Jiahu; Gao, Xiaoqing; Lv, Qingquan; Li, Zhenchao; Li, Peidu

doi:10.1016/j.renene.2021.03.148

Cited by 23 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…In general, the deployment of PV arrays on the lake is forming a new underlying surface. The radiation characteristic change of FPV (one peak) is the same as the desert 8 , 23 , grassland 24 , et al The difference in radiation on various underlying surfaces is from the impact of aerosol, water vapor, terrain, and weather conditions on sunlight.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 97%

Effects of fishery complementary photovoltaic power plant on radiation, energy flux and driving forces under different synoptic conditions

Gao

et al. 2023

Sci Rep

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The underlying surface was the important media of air-lake interaction by transferring energy. The deployment of photovoltaic arrays on the lake has formed a new underlying surface type. But the new underlying surface is different from the natural lake. The impact of fishery complementary photovoltaic (FPV) power plants on the radiation, energy flux, and driving force is unclear. Therefore, the analysis of radiation, energy flux, and driving force by comparing the difference in the two sites under various synoptic conditions. The results indicated that the radiation components are not significantly different in the two sites under diverse synoptic conditions. The downward shortwave radiation (DSR) and net radiation ($${R}_{n}$$ R n ) were presented with one peak on a sunny day. The daily average DSR and Rn in the two sites were 279.1 W·m−2, 209.3 W·m−2, respectively. The daily average (cloudy day and rainy day) sensible heat flux in the two sites was 39.5 W·m−2 (FPV site), 19.2 W·m−2 (REF site), respectively. The latent heat flux was 53.2 W·m−2 and 75.2 W·m−2 on counterpart. The water body generally absorbs heat from the air (daily average ∆Q was 16.6 W·m−2) in the FPV site on a sunny day. The driving force of sensible heat flux in the FPV site was governed by the temperature of the FPV panel under sunny and cloudy conditions. The latent heat flux was determined by the product between wind speed and water-atmosphere temperature difference.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 97%

Effects of fishery complementary photovoltaic power plant on radiation, energy flux and driving forces under different synoptic conditions

Gao

et al. 2023

Sci Rep

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“…For simplicity, the model assumes conditions under the array are the same as the control setting in all aspects other than illumination. While multiple studies have reported differences in air temperature in the presence of photovoltaic arrays (Barron-Gafford et al 2019, Broadbent et al 2019, Jiang et al 2021, the effects are not consistent in magnitude or sign across or within studies. To examine the sensitivity of the results to this assumption, we also considered scenarios where the air temperature under the array differed from the ambient by up to ±5 • C (see supplemental).…”

Section: Modeling Approachmentioning

confidence: 90%

Agrivoltaic system design tools for managing trade-offs between energy production, crop productivity and water consumption

Warmann,

Jenerette,

Barron-Gafford

2024

Environ. Res. Lett.

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Agrivoltaic systems that locate crop production and photovoltaic energy generation on the same land have the potential to aid the transition to renewable energy by reducing the competition between food, habitat, and energy needs for land while reducing irrigation requirements. Experimental efforts to date have not adequately developed an understanding of the interaction among local climate, array design and crop selection sufficient to manage trade-offs in system design. This study simulates the energy production, crop productivity and water consumption impacts of agrivoltaic array design choices in arid and semi-arid environments in the Southwestern region of the United States. Using the Penman-Monteith evapotranspiration model, we predict agrivoltaics can reduce crop water consumption by 30-40% of the array coverage level, depending on local climate. A crop model simulating productivity based on both light level and temperature identifies afternoon shading provided by agrivoltaic arrays as potentially beneficial for shade tolerant plants in hot, dry settings. At the locations considered, several designs and crop combinations exceed land equivalence ratio (LER) values of 2, indicating a doubling of the output per acre for the land resource. These results highlight key design axes for agrivoltaic systems and point to a decision support tool for their development.

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“…Previous studies have shown that large‐scale placement of PV panels increases surface roughness, which reduces wind speed. Wind speed in the PV plant attenuated with the height decrease (Jiang et al, 2021). The wind resistance of PV panels reduces soil surface water evaporation and soil erosion, leading to better vegetation growth (Wu et al, 2014).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, correlation analysis showed that vegetation growth is more vulnerable to the negative effects of high temperature inside the PV arrays. Previous studies have shown that the enhanced temperature of the surface of PV panel heats the near‐surface air temperature, which may subsequently drive a PV heat‐island effect (Chang et al, 2018; Jiang et al, 2021). The higher temperatures speed up the evaporation process, leading to water shortages and stunting vegetation growth.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Conversely, the negative correlation between NDVI and land surface temperature (maximum surface temperature and average surface temperature) was higher in the impact zone. (Jiang et al, 2021). The wind resistance of PV panels reduces soil surface water evaporation and soil erosion, leading to better vegetation growth (Wu et al, 2014).…”

Section: Contribution Of Climate Change and Human Activities To Ndvi ...mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Quantitatively distinguishing the impact of solar photovoltaics programs on vegetation in dryland using satellite imagery

Xia,

Li,

Zhang

et al. 2023

Land Degrad Dev

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Global drylands are experiencing booming development of centralized photovoltaics (PV), which aims to address the dual challenges posed by climate change and energy transformation. In dryland areas with large‐scale deployment of solar PV infrastructure, vegetation was reported to experience drastic changes. However, the long‐term dynamic changes and driving mechanisms have not been thoroughly studied yet. Quantitatively distinguishing the disturbances of climate change and PV plant deployment on vegetation change is the key to understanding the environmental impact of clean energy development and formulating adaptive ecological recovery measures. To understand this, we selected the Gonghe solar power project in northern China, one of the largest dryland PV plants in the world, as a case study. Specifically, satellite‐derived Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and meteorological data from ground stations were used to analyze the changing patterns of vegetation growth and climatic factors. The relative contributions of climatic factors and PV plant deployment to NDVI change were quantified by multiple regression analysis. The results indicated that vegetation has increased gradually since 2000, with the rate of vegetation recovery doubled during the PV expansion period. From 2013 to 2020, climate change was the main driver of increased vegetation (56%), followed by the expansion of solar PV infrastructures (44%). Vegetation inside PV arrays increased 1.4 times faster than outside, mainly because the PV panels improve the efficiency of rainwater utilization in summer and reduce the negative impact of excessive sunlight in the growing season. In addition, vegetation management practices like grazing can further enhance carbon sequestration and create sustainable livelihood opportunities, achieving sustainable economic, social, and ecological development. The novelty of the study lies in the proposed framework to quantify the impact of solar PV programs on vegetation in dryland allowing easy interpretations of vegetation dynamics under clean energy development and climate change, which provide scientific references for clean energy planning and ecological recovery in arid areas.

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Observed impacts of utility-scale photovoltaic plant on local air temperature and energy partitioning in the barren areas

Cited by 23 publications

References 47 publications

Effects of fishery complementary photovoltaic power plant on radiation, energy flux and driving forces under different synoptic conditions

Effects of fishery complementary photovoltaic power plant on radiation, energy flux and driving forces under different synoptic conditions

Agrivoltaic system design tools for managing trade-offs between energy production, crop productivity and water consumption

Quantitatively distinguishing the impact of solar photovoltaics programs on vegetation in dryland using satellite imagery

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