The giant wind turbines
cropping up on ridges, shorelines and other windy locales across the
world affect more than the wind—they are also changing local
temperatures, notes a new study. That's likely because the enormous
blades chop up the incoming wind and thereby more thoroughly mix
different layers of the atmosphere. According to temperature readings
from one of the oldest wind farms in the U.S., near Palm Springs,
Calif., the turbines make it warmer at night and cooler during the day,
generally speaking."For most regions, the mean temperatures may not change by much because the warming and cooling effects may cancel out," says atmospheric scientist Somnath Baidya Roy of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, co-author of the study published online October 4 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. "Wind power is on the verge of an explosive growth. It features prominently in the future energy policy of all industrial economies. Hence, we have a unique opportunity to solve a problem even before it becomes a major issue."
To read the full, original article click on this link: How Wind Turbines Affect Your (Very) Local Weather: Scientific American
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