Solar Panel “Farm” and astronomical seeing

[Alan Snook]

Does anyone know what effect 300 acres of solar panels starting 500 metres away has on seeing? The land is currently agricultural arable.

[Dawson]

I suspect no one definitively knows. You may have to conduct experiments with an existing solar farm.

I suspect day time seeing could be impaired as thermals rise off it.

The panels and metal frame structure will release heat quite quickly in the winter I suspect, but large areas of concrete, tarmac, buildings etc will release their heat more slowly which could impair seeing conditions.

Security lighting at night could also be problematic.

[Dominic Ford]

I agree with James. The internet suggests solar farms can reach ~50C on a summer afternoon, which I imagine would have a significant effect on day-time seeing on sunny days. But I agree with James that their thermal inertia is likely to be quite low, so I would expect the panels to cool off quickly at dusk and pose little problem. But in the absence of empirical data, that’s just my guess!

[Alan Snook]

Thank you for your thoughts! Oooer – I hadn’t thought about security lighting, that had better be no.1 on the list when I go to the public consultation. Your speculations are in line with my own. I had 12 PV panels installed on my garage roof in 2016 – wish I had 120! They are very thin and light weight, their thermal intertia is surely next to nothing. I suspect that at some times of year they will actually improve seeing. After harvest, in the autumn the fields are often left for several months with bare earth. That heats up in the autumn sunshine and degrades evening seeing. That effect will be removed. And effectively the panels are removing megawatts of energy before it hits the ground, whether pasture, crops, or earth.

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