▲ 167 ▼ China's Largest Solar Farm Is Quietly Changing The Desert Around It (www.bgr.com) submitted 7 months ago by artifex@piefed.social to c/energy@slrpnk.net 23 comments fedilink hide all child comments A solar farm in China is greening the land around it by reducing ground water evaporation, cutting down on wind, and adding water to the ground.
[–] mst@discuss.tchncs.de 10 points 7 months ago (1 child) Is the water that's not evaporating missing somewhere else? permalink fedilink source hideshow 1 child comment replies: [–] RunawayFixer@lemmy.world 13 points 7 months ago Initially yes, a tiny bit, but long term no: it will go to a new equilibrium, where over time just as much leaves as enters. Except thanks to the extra water that is being retained locally, the local environment will be greener + more temperate than without the panels. And that new green lung is likely to have beneficial effects further away as well, similar to forests. permalink fedilink source parent
[–] RunawayFixer@lemmy.world 13 points 7 months ago Initially yes, a tiny bit, but long term no: it will go to a new equilibrium, where over time just as much leaves as enters. Except thanks to the extra water that is being retained locally, the local environment will be greener + more temperate than without the panels. And that new green lung is likely to have beneficial effects further away as well, similar to forests. permalink fedilink source parent