Climatic impacts of wind power in the relatively stable and unstable atmosphere: A case study in China during the explosive growth from 2009 to 2018

Abstract

The interaction between wind farms and the atmosphere becomes non-negligible. Here, we established a dynamic wind power development scenario (2009–2018) in China and performed the simulations using a numerical weather prediction model to quantify the climatic impacts. The results show that the significant local and regional climatic impacts are closely related to atmospheric stability. In particular, for the unstable atmosphere in summer, the induced vertical mixing breaks the inversion layer and promotes the variation of the high-level atmosphere with the evolution of mesoscale circulation, forming the regional climatic responses. A peak seasonal average wind speed deficit of 0.92 m/s and slight warming occur surrounding northern China, and a peak wind gain of 0.21 m/s and cooling of 0.52 °C emerge in southeastern China. It is expected that these impacts will be enlarged in the future, and it should be thought highly of the potential implications on sustainable wind development.