What if the Thar Desert was covered with solar panels?

Usually, a solar farm is build to prevent changes to the environment, but if we built one in the Thar Desert, it might cause some changes of its own. If we lined the desert floor with giant solar panels, it would double the rainfall in the region and increase vegetation cover by about 20 per cent.

Can we put solar panels in Thar Desert?

It is one of a large number of solar parks expected to be built in a 35,000 km2 area of the Thar Desert that has been reserved for solar power projects. A 100 megawatts (300,000,000 British thermal units per hour) solar thermal project at the same location has been synchronised in November, 2014.

Why is the Thar Desert a good location for a large wind farm?

Renewable energy, primarily wind and solar, plays a significant role in the state’s ability to cope with this demand, and is in fact generating an energy surplus. Mainly occupied by the Thar Desert it is considered an ideal place for the generation of electricity from wind power.

What if the whole world went solar?

Regions to the East, or downwind, of desert areas covered by solar panels would also cool off by about 1 degree Celsius. For example, global temperature would decline by about 0.04 degrees Celsius, the researchers found. This smaller global solar grid would produce about 59 terawatts of power per year.

Why dont we put solar panels in space?

According to Jaffe, the conclusion at the time by NASA and the Department of Energy regarding space-based solar power technology was that it could be possible, but it would be very, very expensive — likely hundreds of millions of dollars. That’s the reason the technology is stalled.

What is the potential for future renewable energy projects in the Thar Desert?

The Thar Desert in India covers around 200,000 square kilometres. Deploying PV on five per cent of this could generate roughly 1,000TWh of electricity, more than one-and-a-half times India’s 2012 demand. Using one per cent could produce around 200TWh, a significant boost to the country’s renewable energy supplies.