Posted on 09/10/2018 7:40:03 AM PDT by ETL
Energy generation by wind and solar farms could reduce carbon emissions and thus mitigate anthropogenic climate change.
A new climate-modeling study, published in the journal Science, finds that large-scale installations of wind and solar farms in the Sahara Desert and the neighboring Sahel region — areas particularly desirable for such farms because of their vastness and lack of inhabitants — would increase local temperature, precipitation and vegetation. ..."
“Our study is among the first to model the climate effects of wind and solar installations while taking into account how vegetation responds to changes in heat and precipitation,” Dr. Li said.
“Previous modeling studies have shown that large-scale wind and solar farms can produce significant climate change at continental scales. But the lack of vegetation feedbacks could make the modeled climate impacts very different from their actual behavior.”
The wind and solar farms simulated in the study would cover more than 9 million km2 and generate, on average, about 3 terawatts and 79 terawatts of electrical power, respectively.
“In 2017, the global energy demand was only 18 terawatts, so this is obviously much more energy than is currently needed worldwide,” Dr. Li said.
The model revealed that wind farms caused regional warming of near-surface air temperature, with greater changes in minimum temperatures than maximum temperatures.
“The greater nighttime warming takes place because wind turbines can enhance the vertical mixing and bring down warmer air from above,” the researchers said.
“Precipitation also increased as much as 0.25 mm per day on average in regions with wind farm installation.”
“This was a doubling of precipitation over that seen in the control experiments. In the Sahel, average rainfall increased 1.12 mm per day where wind farms were present,” Dr. Li said.
“This increase in precipitation, in turn, leads to an increase in vegetation cover, creating a positive feedback loop.”
(Excerpt) Read more at sci-news.com ...
Climate change! Oh, the horror!
Yes and even swampy in places.
Large-Scale Solar and Wind Farms in Sahara Would Increase Rain and may increase the number and intensity of HURRICANES in the UNITED STATES.
If Europe wants to pay for this I say more power to ‘em!
Liberals NEVER think in terms of systems. If you introduce systems in to the equation, it leads to the answer that we don’t know much, are not in control and there is a design...…………………..
Fair enough. I could buy this.
So, how are they planning to get all this power from Sub-Saharan Africa to, say, Philadelphia?
Not a unique problem. Generation of power is the easy part. Transmission and distribution is the difficult piece. But Liberals don't like to be confused with facts and tough questions.
The only models climate change fanatics have been accurate with is the flow of funds in direct correlation to their dire predictions. Although those models have been degrading as the climate models have shown to be extremely inaccurate.
Solar power requires a relatively clean environment for photoelectric or mirrored steam systems.
The Shara is a very dusty desert. Dust quickly covers everything.
Wind power requires cooling. Generators do generate a substantial amount of heat. The Shara is hot. If the generator can’t dissipate the heat they quickly shutdown or fail. The generators also will quickly fail due to the abrasive nature of the Shara’s very fine sand and dust getting in to the mechanical workings of the generators.
The Shara is a very hostile environment for most anything man made. Anyone who attempts to build anything in the Shara had better build a pilot version of whatever it is first so they can learn from their failure
So it's been getting drier over the centuries.
Except I think, quite recently, it's begun to slightly green up again. Due to more adequate levels of CO2?
First show me a climate model that actually works. None of them do.
Israel has the answers. Look at what they’re producing!
I think we should shoot for the optimum, 1500 ppm.
Four-fold increase.
Nothing but the best for Mother Earth.
Only a Liberal idiot would wish to INCREASE the temperature in a desert......
Set up a string of Thorium Molten Salt reactors all along the coastal region of the African countries bordering the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean, and use them to drive desalination plants, evaporating the sea water and recovering the mineral wealth dissolved in the sea water. The water vapor is released into the atmosphere where it has the multiple effect of COOLING the vast area of the Sahara, and to fall as rain, making a vast increase in the arable land on this continent, and making Africa once again attractive to the vast numbers of migrants who have fled to Europe and elsewhere.
The desert can bloom again.
Just an updated “the rain follows the plow (circa 1880’s & 1890’s)” claim.
Call me when the monsoon starts on our wind farms, in the USA SW, Cali., NM, AZ.
So global energy demand was a mere 18 terawatts. Now, is that energy demand or just electrical energy demand?
A terawatt is a measure of power (energy / time), not energy. I am very wary of those who confuse the two concepts.
The global energy demand is measured in terawatt-hours.
Good post, and points to the correct solution
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