Comment by kryogen1c
3 days ago
During transfer, the source experiences removal.
Covering the ground in non transparent panels removes heat from the ground.
3 days ago
During transfer, the source experiences removal.
Covering the ground in non transparent panels removes heat from the ground.
Yes.
The side effects of solar panels is indeed a cooler ground underneath. Plants have difficulty growing in the shade.
Panels have a darker shade than most ground they are covering, so they might actually absorb more heat than the typical ground they are covering. They are distorting the local albedo.
I think for geocooling by solar panels shade, the effect is completely local and only surface deep. After all stone/ground is an insulator, and geothermal energy is considered renewable.
If anything on average solar panels will warm the earth, because they are on average darker than whatever they're covering. (this effect is much less than due to CO2)
It prevents some heat from reaching the ground there (solar panels are ~20% efficient: most of the energy still reaches the ground). The energy (energy + heat is generally more than would normally be absorbed by heat in the ground) gets used and then turns into... heat. Which either makes it into the air or the ground, which is where it was going to wind up anyway.
That's why you install solar panels where covering the ground has little to no impact, like on top of urban buildings or deserts where nothing lives or grows.