Greening The Sahara With New Energy

Renewable energy could green Sahara

Liz Kalaugher, 7 September 2018 (PhysicsWorld)

“Installing large amounts of wind and solar power in the Sahara Desert and neighbouring Sahel would increase local temperatures, rainfall and vegetation…[P]revious modelling studies showed large-scale wind and solar farms can produce significant climate change at continental scales…[This study was among the first to include modeling for] vegetation response…The simulated renewable energy plants would cover more than 9 million square km; the wind farms would generate an average of around 3 terawatts of electrical power and the solar farms around 79 terawatts…In 2017, the global energy demand was only 18 terawatts…Wind [and solar] farms warmed near-surface air temperatures in the region, the model showed, changing minimum, i.e. night-time, temperatures more than maximum temperatures…Precipitation also increased as much as 0.25 mm per day on average…” click here for more

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