As water It becomes a more precious resource than oila group of scientists has analyzed if solar farms can have an even more beneficial effect than generating energy with sunlight: making it rain in the desert, offering the communities most affected by drought water and renewable energy at the same time .
Climate engineering against drought. Given the drama of its waning water resources, the United Arab Emirates government financed a study published by German researchers in Earth System Dynamics. The researchers proposed to create artificial heat islands by installing large black surfaces (ideally, solar panel farms) to enhance precipitation in arid areas.
A promising result. The scientists simulated the impact of these surfaces with advanced models and obtained surprising results. A heat island of 20 km² induces an increase in rains 571,616 m³ a day. This could be translated into water supplies for about 31,000 people. Only with an area of 20 km².
But the interesting thing about study is not its quantitative results, but the possibility of implementing these surfaces taking advantage of existing infrastructure, such as photovoltaic solar panels. This solution would not only address water scarcity but also contribute to renewable energy production.
How it works. That a farm of solar panels can induce rain is not a very intuitive concept, but it is something that He has been studying for a while, particularly in the Sahara. These facilities, by absorbing heat with their dark panels, could create ascending currents that, under the right conditions, would trigger rain storms.
When these farms exceed a certain size (about 15 km²), the heat absorbed by the panels, in contrast to the most reflective sand, significantly increases the convection currents necessary for cloud formation.
Areas where we know is viable. For this process to work, a source of atmospheric humidity is needed. The models showed that the wet winds of great height from the Persian Gulf are enough, to the joy of Emirates. The researchers also identified other areas of the world where it could work, such as Namibia and the Peninsula of Baja California in Mexico.
Some limitations. The initiative requires darker surfaces than those commonly produced by solar panel manufacturers. Some panels are even reflective to improve your thermal performance. However, the Construction of increasingly large solar farmsespecially in China, they open the door to try the idea in the real world.
It won’t be simple, of course. The implementation of gigantic heat islands raises logistic, but also ecological and social challenges. For example, how would these surfaces affect local biodiversity? What would be the visual and social impact on nearby communities? You need more research and pilot tests to discover it.
The case of Emirates. The United Arab Emirates government, which financed the study, is facing the shortage of two ways, mainly: desalination and sowing of clouds. The program of Cloud sowing through airplanes Plan about 300 missions every year, but like desalination, it is an expensive method with limitations. In this context, large solar farm surfaces are a promising alternative.
Image | Pixabay
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*An earlier version of this article was published in February 2024
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