Simulating the impacts of utility-scale photovoltaic installations with a physically based coupled WRF-PV model

Chen, Yiran; Jin, Jiming; Liu, Yimin; Heusinger, Jannik; Carrera, Jesús; Zhou, Zeyu

doi:10.5194/gmd-19-8515-2026

Articles | Volume 19, issue 17

https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-19-8515-2026

© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-19-8515-2026

© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 19, issue 17

Development and technical paper

|

14 Sep 2026

Development and technical paper |

| 14 Sep 2026

Simulating the impacts of utility-scale photovoltaic installations with a physically based coupled WRF-PV model

Yiran Chen, Jiming Jin, Yimin Liu, Jannik Heusinger, Jesús Carrera, and Zeyu Zhou

Supplement

https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-19-8515-2026-supplement

Data sets

Data and code for the artical titled "Simulating the impacts of utility-scale photovoltaic installations with a physically based coupled WRF-PV model" Yiran Chen https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21885978

Model code and software

Data and code for the artical titled "Simulating the impacts of utility-scale photovoltaic installations with a physically based coupled WRF-PV model" Yiran Chen https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21885978

Short summary

Solar power plants are expanding rapidly worldwide, but their impacts on local climate remain uncertain. In this study, we developed a coupled model that explicitly represents interactions between solar panels, land surface, and the atmosphere. Evaluation against satellite observations showed improved simulation of land surface temperature over solar farms. Simulations show that solar farms can cool the land surface, warm near-surface air, reduce incoming sunlight, and alter rainfall patterns.