\n Lior Kahana<\/a><\/p>\n
A research team from China conducted a two-year field study to assess how large-scale photovoltaic (PV) farms influence local climate conditions, with a focus on air temperature, surface temperature, and surface radiation balance. The observation campaign took place from 2022 to 2024 at a 100 MW solar PV facility located in a semi-arid desert region of Inner Mongolia.<\/p>\n
The researchers combined in situ meteorological measurements, surface radiation observations, and uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV)-based thermal infrared imaging to quantify changes in air temperature, land surface temperature, and the surface energy balance. By comparing conditions within the PV installation and in nearby non-PV reference areas, they assessed how PV infrastructure alters radiative fluxes and heat exchange processes in dryland environments.<\/p>\n
The dataset provided high-resolution evidence of how utility-scale PV deployment can modify local thermal regimes and energy partitioning in arid and semi-arid landscapes, offering insight into the broader environmental impacts of rapid solar energy expansion.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur study aims to quantify the seasonal and diurnal impacts of PV deployment on near-surface air temperature; to characterize the fine-scale spatial heterogeneity of land surface temperature (LST) within and around PV arrays using UAV-based thermal imaging; and to diagnose the radiative and thermodynamic mechanisms underlying PV-induced warming by combining ground-based and aerial observations,\u201d explained the researchers.<\/p>\n
During the study period, a network of temperature sensors was deployed both within the PV plant and at a nearby reference site located approximately 10 km away to capture background conditions unaffected by solar infrastructure. These instruments were installed at a standard height of 2 m above ground level and recorded air temperature at 15-minute intervals, enabling high-temporal-resolution comparisons between the PV and non-PV environments.<\/p>\n
In addition to the long-term temperature monitoring, targeted radiation measurements were conducted during an intensive field campaign in July 2023. This campaign used instrumented observation towers positioned inside the PV field and at a reference location about 2 km away, allowing the researchers to directly compare radiative fluxes under similar meteorological conditions.<\/p>\n
To complement the point-based measurements, land surface temperature patterns were further examined using UAV-based thermal infrared imaging on July 29, 2023. This approach provided high-resolution spatial mapping of surface thermal conditions across both the PV installation and adjacent non-PV areas, capturing fine-scale heterogeneity that ground sensors alone could not resolve, according to the research group.<\/p>\n
The results showed a statistically robust warming signal associated with the PV installation. Over the two-year observation period, the PV farm exhibited a mean air temperature increase of 0.8 C relative to the reference site, with warming observed consistently across all seasons. The study further found an asymmetry in diurnal temperature changes: increases in daily minimum air temperatures were greater than those in daily maximum temperatures, leading to a 1.9 C reduction in the daily temperature range compared with non-PV areas.<\/p>\n
Consistent with these findings, UAV-based thermal mapping revealed elevated land surface temperatures within the PV field, ranging from 0.3 C to 4.1 C above adjacent non-PV regions. The radiation measurements also indicated a positive perturbation in surface energy balance, with mean daily net radiation increasing by 8.3 W m\u00b2 in the PV area. This enhancement was particularly pronounced during daytime hours, when net radiation rose by up to 18.5 W m\u00b2, highlighting the role of PV infrastructure in modifying local radiative and thermal dynamics.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis increase in net radiation was primarily due to a decrease in albedo, which resulted in 24.6 W m2 more net shortwave radiation,\u201d the team said. \u201cThe PV farm increased the outgoing longwave radiation by 6.1 W m2 during the daytime and 4.6 W m2 at night, which was considerably lower than the increased net shortwave radiation.\u201d<\/p>\n
The research was presented in \u201cPersistent site-scale warming associated with solar photovoltaic installations<\/a>,\u201d published in the Journal of Environmental Management.\u201cThese findings underscore the need to consider potential environmental trade-offs in future PV deployment strategies,\u201d the scientists concluded.<\/p>\n Researchers from China\u2019s Inner Mongolia University of Finance and Economics, Peking University,\u00a0<\/a>Inner Mongolia Institute of Water Resources Research, and Inner Mongolia Agricultural University.<\/p>\n This content is protected by copyright and may not be reused. If you want to cooperate with us and would like to reuse some of our content, please contact: editors@pv-magazine.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\tPopular content<\/p>\n
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