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| Wind farms do not affect climate and rain falls, the so-called "low" clouds that produce rain can reach up to 6,500 feet, well over the reach of the highest 350 feet turbines.
"Should wind supply the world’s energy needs, this parameterization estimates energy loss in the lowest 1 km of the atmosphere to be ~0.007%. This is an order of magnitude smaller than atmospheric energy loss from aerosol pollution and urbanization, and orders of magnitude less than the energy added to the atmosphere from doubling CO2. Also, the net heat added to the environment due to wind dissipation is much less than that added by thermal plants that the turbines displace."
Investigating the Effect of Large Wind Farms on Energy in the Atmosphere
Magdalena R.V. Sta. Maria * and Mark Z. Jacobson Atmosphere/Energy Program, Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, Stanford University,
Stanford, CA 94035, USA
21 August 2009
There is an effect on microclimate though, with slightly higher (1-2 °C) temperatures downwind, but only between noon and midnight, with a peak of 3-4 °C right after noon. But that was very localized, so any effect is probably dissipated and normal temperatures resume if you live 30 miles away, and just one wind farm is not going to make any difference.
See the first chart in this 2010 study: http://www.pnas.org/content/107/42/17899.full#F2
Wind turbines generate a lot of turbulence, this is the reason why there is this temperature increase, because the lower and higher levels of air at different temperatures are mixed together, but new designs reduce this problem. Not because it affects temperatures, but because the turbulences reduce the efficiency of the turbines.
A study published a month ago shows temperatures increasing at night, with an average 0.78 °C increase over a decade over non-windfarm lands.
You can find the article here: http://arstechnica.com/science/2012/04/turning-up-the-heat-windfarm...
Edited by Chimel 5/31/2012 18:49
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windmills = no rain??
