Impact of Desert Wind Farms on Convection Initiation

The global expansion of green renewable energy in recent decades has led to a substantial increase in the number of wind farms. While the long-term impacts of wind farms on the atmosphere have been the subject of some research, their short-term effects on weather phenomena, such as convection initiation (CI), remain insufficiently understood. This study addresses this gap by exploring the influence of wind farms on CI, contributing to a broader understanding of anthropogenic impacts on natural atmospheric processes. We explored the general features of CI events from June−August during 2021–2023 associated with desert wind farms in Inner Mongolia, China. A total of 72 CI events were identified with 24% associated with the boundary layer convergence line (BLCL) generated due to desert-oasis vegetation contrast. The impact of the wind farms on the CI process embedded in stratiform cloud on 12 July 2022 from DEsert-oasis COnvergence line and Deep convection Experiment was examined through simulations using Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model. Results showed that wind farms can accelerate CI by intensifying the BLCL and shift it southward. It was found that wind farms generated upward-propagating gravity waves, which modulated water vapor transport and led to a reduction in moisture content within the stratiform cloud layer, thereby decreasing cloud coverage and thus increasing solar radiation and surface temperature. The modified surface temperature distribution then shifted the BLCL southward and intensifying it, which eventually accelerated CI.