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Renewable energy facilities, such as wind turbines or solar panels, can play an important role in the fight against climate change by providing energy that does not require the combustion of fossil fuels.
But models have shown that large solar or wind parks can also change the climate directly through their presence.
Now, a group of scientists led by researchers at the University of Maryland and the University of Illinois has tried to model what would happen if solar and wind power plants large enough to power the planet were installed in the change. which could really help more than it hurts.
The results, released Friday in Science, showed that the facilities would increase rainfall and vegetation in the Sahara and the neighboring Sahelian region, which lies between the Sahara and the Sudan savannah, which makes it a positive potential for the region and the planet.
"The increase in rainfall and vegetation, combined with clean electricity through solar and wind energy, could help agriculture, economic development and social well-being in the Sahara, Sahel, the Middle East and other neighboring regions, "writes author Safa Motesharrei said in a press release from the University of Illinois published by ScienceDaily.
The researchers focused on the Sahara because it is an ideal place for such a renewable energy project.
"We chose it because it is the largest desert in the world, it is sparsely populated, very sensitive to changes of terrain and is located in Africa and close to Europe and the Middle East. East, "said senior author Yan Li.
The study found that wind farms would increase precipitation as they would increase the temperature by drawing in warm air at night and reduce wind speed by creating more friction. This would lead to a doubling of rainfall where wind farms have been installed.
Solar farms would increase precipitation by reducing albedo, the amount of light reflected from the earth, which would increase precipitation.
In both cases, the researchers found that precipitation would increase vegetation, further reducing albedo, leading to more precipitation. The effect has been increased if solar and wind farms have been installed.
The author of the study, Daniel Kirk-Davidoff, told AFP that the effect would not be as dramatic overall – the desert would remain dry – but the additional vegetation in the south of the region would make a important difference for the inhabitants. increase the possibilities of grazing.
"It's hard to imagine that it would be a bad thing from the point of view of human communities," he said.
While local temperature increases were part of the planned impact of the facilities, the researchers made it clear that these changes would remain in the Sahara and the Sahel, not worldwide, such as global warming caused by greenhouse gases. greenhouse.
One element that separated the study from the previous research was its interest in vegetation, said Li in the press release from the University of Illinois, most studies on the impact of the impact would have an impact on the vegetation, or how the changed vegetation would then change the climate.
"Previous modeling studies have shown that large-scale wind and solar farms can produce significant climate change on a continental scale," said Li. "But lack of feedback from vegetation could make impacts modeled climates very different from their actual behavior. "
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