- Dark solar panels turn desert heat into rain clouds, not just electricity
- 20 square kilometer solar farm produces more rain than a year of cloud seeding
- Moist winds from the Persian Gulf are what the desert sun needs to produce rain
In the United Arab Emirates, where water is more valuable than oil, new research suggests large solar farms could trigger their own rainstorms.
A modeling study led by climatologist Oliver Branch of the University of Hohenheim found that dark solar panels absorb more heat than the reflective sand of the surrounding desert.
This temperature difference results in updrafts that can cause rain, potentially providing water to tens of thousands of people.
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How Dark Solar Panels Create Their Own Weather
The researchers modeled the solar panels as nearly black surfaces that absorb 95% of incoming sunlight.
When solar farms grew larger than 15 square kilometers, the increased heat contrasted sharply with the reflective sand around them, increasing the updrafts that drive cloud formation, but they need a source of atmospheric moisture.
However, the model showed that moist high-altitude winds from the Persian Gulf would be sufficient.
A 20 square kilometer solar field would increase precipitation by almost 600,000 cubic meters under good conditions, which is equivalent to 1 cm of rain falling on an area the size of Manhattan.
If such rains occurred ten times in a summer, it would provide enough water for more than 30,000 people for a year.
“Some solar farms are getting to the right size right now… It may not be science fiction that we can achieve this effect,” Branch said.
One limitation is that the simulated solar panels were darker than what most manufacturers currently make, because some modern solar panels are designed to be reflective to cool their surroundings, which would reduce the effect of rain.
Zhengyao Lu, a climate scientist at Lund University, called the new work “very exciting,” but noted the concern.
Branch hopes the idea can be tested in the real world, noting that the solar farms being commissioned in China are almost large enough.
He suggests planting dark, drought-tolerant crops, such as jojoba shrubs, between rows of panels to enhance the effect.
The UAE has funded the branch’s modeling research, but the country remains committed to its cloud-seeding program, flying around 300 missions each year.
This implies that local authorities are not yet convinced that solar precipitation is a practical alternative.
According to Branch and his team, this model could work in other arid regions, including Namibia and Mexico’s Baja Peninsula.
If future research validates these findings, the rainfall potential of solar farms could provide an unexpected incentive for renewable energy development in the world’s driest regions.
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