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Regional climate model simulations indicate limited climatic impacts by operational and planned European wind farms

Author

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  • Robert Vautard

    (Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l’Environnement, IPSL, laboratoire CEA-CNRS-UVSQ Orme des Merisiers)

  • Françoise Thais

    (I-Tésé, Institut de Technico-Economie des Systèmes Energétiques CEA/DEN/DANS Centre de Saclay Batiment 125)

  • Isabelle Tobin

    (Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l’Environnement, IPSL, laboratoire CEA-CNRS-UVSQ Orme des Merisiers)

  • François-Marie Bréon

    (Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l’Environnement, IPSL, laboratoire CEA-CNRS-UVSQ Orme des Merisiers)

  • Jean-Guy Devezeaux de Lavergne

    (I-Tésé, Institut de Technico-Economie des Systèmes Energétiques CEA/DEN/DANS Centre de Saclay Batiment 125)

  • Augustin Colette

    (Institut National de l’Environnement industriel et de RISques, Parc Technologique Alata, BP2)

  • Pascal Yiou

    (Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l’Environnement, IPSL, laboratoire CEA-CNRS-UVSQ Orme des Merisiers)

  • Paolo Michele Ruti

    (ENEA Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development
    UTMEA-CLIM Energy Environment Modeling Unit—Climate & Impact Modeling Laboratory)

Abstract

The rapid development of wind energy has raised concerns about environmental impacts. Temperature changes are found in the vicinity of wind farms and previous simulations have suggested that large-scale wind farms could alter regional climate. However, assessments of the effects of realistic wind power development scenarios at the scale of a continent are missing. Here we simulate the impacts of current and near-future wind energy production according to European Union energy and climate policies. We use a regional climate model describing the interactions between turbines and the atmosphere, and find limited impacts. A statistically significant signal is only found in winter, with changes within ±0.3 °C and within 0–5% for precipitation. It results from the combination of local wind farm effects and changes due to a weak, but robust, anticyclonic-induced circulation over Europe. However, the impacts remain much weaker than the natural climate interannual variability and changes expected from greenhouse gas emissions.

Suggested Citation

  • Robert Vautard & Françoise Thais & Isabelle Tobin & François-Marie Bréon & Jean-Guy Devezeaux de Lavergne & Augustin Colette & Pascal Yiou & Paolo Michele Ruti, 2014. "Regional climate model simulations indicate limited climatic impacts by operational and planned European wind farms," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 5(1), pages 1-9, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:5:y:2014:i:1:d:10.1038_ncomms4196
    DOI: 10.1038/ncomms4196
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    Cited by:

    1. Momeni, Farhang & Sabzpoushan, Seyedali & Valizadeh, Reza & Morad, Mohammad Reza & Liu, Xun & Ni, Jun, 2019. "Plant leaf-mimetic smart wind turbine blades by 4D printing," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 329-351.
    2. Tuchtenhagen, Patrícia & Carvalho, Gilvani Gomes de & Martins, Guilherme & Silva, Pollyanne Evangelista da & Oliveira, Cristiano Prestrelo de & de Melo Barbosa Andrade, Lara & Araújo, João Medeiros de, 2020. "WRF model assessment for wind intensity and power density simulation in the southern coast of Brazil," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 190(C).
    3. Yuan Zhou & Meijuan Pan & Frauke Urban, 2018. "Comparing the International Knowledge Flow of China’s Wind and Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Industries: Patent Analysis and Implications for Sustainable Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(6), pages 1-34, June.
    4. Wang, Qiang & Luo, Kun & Wu, Chunlei & Fan, Jianren, 2019. "Impact of substantial wind farms on the local and regional atmospheric boundary layer: Case study of Zhangbei wind power base in China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 183(C), pages 1136-1149.
    5. Jianbo Yang & Qunyi Liu & Xin Li & Xiandan Cui, 2017. "Overview of Wind Power in China: Status and Future," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(8), pages 1-12, August.
    6. Balog, Irena & Ruti, Paolo M. & Tobin, Isabelle & Armenio, Vincenzo & Vautard, Robert, 2016. "A numerical approach for planning offshore wind farms from regional to local scales over the Mediterranean," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 395-405.
    7. Jerez, S. & Thais, F. & Tobin, I. & Wild, M. & Colette, A. & Yiou, P. & Vautard, R., 2015. "The CLIMIX model: A tool to create and evaluate spatially-resolved scenarios of photovoltaic and wind power development," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 1-15.
    8. Baptiste François & Benoit Hingray & Marco Borga & Davide Zoccatelli & Casey Brown & Jean-Dominique Creutin, 2018. "Impact of Climate Change on Combined Solar and Run-of-River Power in Northern Italy," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(2), pages 1-22, January.
    9. François, B. & Hingray, B. & Raynaud, D. & Borga, M. & Creutin, J.D., 2016. "Increasing climate-related-energy penetration by integrating run-of-the river hydropower to wind/solar mix," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 87(P1), pages 686-696.
    10. Porchetta, Sara & Muñoz-Esparza, Domingo & Munters, Wim & van Beeck, Jeroen & van Lipzig, Nicole, 2021. "Impact of ocean waves on offshore wind farm power production," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 180(C), pages 1179-1193.
    11. Raynaud, D. & Hingray, B. & François, B. & Creutin, J.D., 2018. "Energy droughts from variable renewable energy sources in European climates," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 578-589.
    12. Kaffine, Daniel T., 2019. "Microclimate effects of wind farms on local crop yields," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 159-173.
    13. François, B., 2016. "Influence of winter North-Atlantic Oscillation on Climate-Related-Energy penetration in Europe," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 99(C), pages 602-613.
    14. Prósper, Miguel A. & Otero-Casal, Carlos & Fernández, Felipe Canoura & Miguez-Macho, Gonzalo, 2019. "Wind power forecasting for a real onshore wind farm on complex terrain using WRF high resolution simulations," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 135(C), pages 674-686.
    15. Chen, Liang, 2020. "Impacts of climate change on wind resources over North America based on NA-CORDEX," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 153(C), pages 1428-1438.

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