With the passage of time, the drought problem is becoming increasingly clear, especially in abandoned areas, which has led to the search for innovations such as the activation of the internal water clock and the controversial bombing of clouds. However, there has been a completely different method that causes rain, but how is this possible?
Water scarcity: an increasingly serious problem
More than 8000 million people currently live the planet and theirs Up to 36% lives a situation of serious water shortage for at least four months a year and it is considered that it will increase to 75% by 2050.
One of the places where this is very clear is in the United Arab EmiratesWhere they see in water as liquid gold, as valuable as oil! To meet the needs of its inhabitants who live in the desert, they resort to expensive desalination installations and cloud bombing from aircraft, which spray particles into the clouds to cause rain.
The problem is that these options have major inconveniences because they have a strong impact on the environment, because of their great energy consumption and considerable CO2 footprint.
Looking for solutions, however, a new study has shown that there might be another way to cause rain, but how? The answer would be surprisingly enough Solar parks that create their own climate.
The technology that will replace cloud bombing
That a farm with solar panels can cause rain sounds a bit weird, but it is something that costs a while, especially in the Sahara.
By absorbing heat with their dark panels, these facilities can create rising currents that would cause rainstorms under adequate conditions, which would supply water for thousands of people.
When these farms exceed a certain size, the heat that is absorbed by the panels increases, unlike the most reflective sand, considerably the required convection flows for cloud formation.
“Some solar parks are currently reaching the right size”dice Oliver’s branchA climate scientist at the University of Hohenheim. “Maybe it’s not a science fiction that we can produce this effect” confirmed.
Technology can go to other countries
The United Arab Emirates have financed the branch model, but it is still about to be tested the system in the real world because they are also committed to the cloud plant program.
On the other hand, branch and his colleagues They have identified other parts of the world where the plan could work, such as Namibia and the Baja California peninsula, in Mexico. They also try to improve the realism of the simulations of solar panels of their model in which they are compared with field measurements in existing solar parks.
There are still major challenges
At the moment there is even more research into the subject and a number of ecological and social challenges are working on. For example, how would these surfaces influence local biodiversity? What would the visual and social impact be on communities nearby?
Although there is still no answer to those questions, this study is the first step to move forward and the most incredible is that it will not only tackle water scarcity, but also would contribute to the production of renewable energy Isn’t it great?
Remember that solar energy is one of the most promising technologies to produce energy because Enormously reduces the emissions that cause climate change And being able to combine this green energy to solve the drought problem is really fascinating.
In conclusion, this new technology is great progress to solve problems with the water shortage efficiently and respectfully with our planet. These incredible innovations, such as this invisible system, show how solar energy can be the answer to solve many more problems we thought.