Coexisting Agriculture, Industry, and Energy in Rural Areas： Comparative Surrounding Surface Temperatures between Rooftop Solar Panels and Iron Rooftop in the Yunlin

Abstract

In Taiwan's rural areas, significant changes are underway in the once-predominant focus on traditional agriculture. The current landscape in rural areas is characterized not only by the presence of numerous factories but also by the increasing solar panels, driven by the ongoing transition to renewable energy sources. Despite numerous studies confirming the correlation between land use and temperature in urban areas, limited thermal research has been conducted in rural regions. Additionally, rural residents, particularly the elderly, are more sensitive to temperature variations. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether the construction of iron rooftop factories and rooftop solar panel structures in rural environments results in significant differences in surface temperature and surrounding land use, thereby revealing the thermal impacts of these structures.Three coastal towns in central Taiwan were selected as the primary study area due to their higher density of solar panels and similar agricultural characteristics. Landsat 8 surface temperature data were utilized, with buffer zones established at 30-meter intervals from sample boundaries to explore variations in surface temperature and land use characteristics. The findings reveal that rooftop solar panels and iron factories are predominantly surrounded by arid fields. As the distance from rooftop solar panels increases, the surface temperature gradually decreases, returning to ambient levels. However, no discernible changes in surface temperature were observed around iron rooftop factories. This study not only sheds light on the thermal impacts of these structures in rural environments but also points out the importance of land use control on thermal environments.