Computational fluid dynamics study of the aerodynamic effects of a utility-scale photovoltaic farm

The aerodynamic interaction between large-scale photovoltaic (PV) farms and the Atmospheric Boundary Layer (ABL) influences PV-induced microclimates, yet a robust framework for this interaction remains limited. This study proposes the Photovoltaic Boundary Layer (PVBL) as a conceptual framework for describing the ABL region modified by a PV farm, based on Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) simulations of a 500 m × 500 m PV farm, with two layout configurations: Regular Grid (RG) and Regular Grid with Walkways (RGW). The simulation results indicate that the farm's vertical influence may extend to approximately 14 times the panel height for the layouts considered. Wind flow within the Photovoltaic Canopy Layer (PVCL) exhibits a characteristic S-shape with a secondary maximum at Z/H ≈ 0.14, similar to forest canopies, suggesting that classical exponential models may not fully represent the flow under the present conditions. A two-layer simulation-derived model is therefore proposed to describe the observed profile. Furthermore, internal walkways in the RGW layout enhance near-ground airflow, while the farm's overall drag remains similar (<2% difference) between layouts. This suggests that, for the cases considered, the farm's drag may be primarily influenced by the aggregate frontal area density of the PV panels. These findings provide initial insights into PV farm aerodynamics, may inform future refinement of mesoscale PV models, and could potentially support the design of aerodynamically resilient PV farms.