An Observational Study on the Local Climate Effect of the Shangyi Wind Farm in Hebei Province

Zhangjiakou is an important wind power base in Hebei Province,China.The impact of its wind farms on the local climate is controversial.Based on long-term meteorological data from 1981 to 2018,we investigated the effects of the Shangyi Wind Farm(SWF)in Zhangjiakou on air temperature,wind speed,relative humidity,and precipitation using the anomaly or ratio method between the impacted weather station and the non-impacted background weather station.The influence of the SWF on land surface temperature(LST)and evapotranspiration(ET)using MODIS satellite data from 2003 to 2018 was also explored.The results showed that the SWF had an atmospheric warming effect at night especially in summer and autumn(up to 0.95℃).The daytime air temperature changes were marginal,and their signs were varying depending on the season.The annual mean wind speed decreased by 6%,mainly noted in spring and winter(up to 14%).The precipitation and relative humidity were not affected by the SWF.There was no increase in LST in the SWF perhaps due to the increased vegetation coverage unrelated to the wind farms,which canceled out the wind farm-induced land surface warming and also resulted in an increase in ET.The results showed that the impact of wind farms on the local climate was significant,while their impact on the regional climate was slight.