By Rhane Elder

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Pamela Grothe

Abstract

With the growing urgency to move away from fossil fuels, renewable energy has started to rapidly expand. Large-scale solar farms are increasingly being proposed, and often they face backlash from community members on the potential impacts it could have. Spotsylvania County, Virginia is home to the largest solar farm on the east coast of the United States. One concern residents had during public meetings was the potential for a heat island to form and affect the nearby neighborhood, Fawn Lake. This study aims to look into this concern and see if large solar farms can raise local temperature. Most research on the potential for solar farms to cause a heat island has occurred in desert areas and might not reflect the effects of a more naturally forested area. Using LANDSAT imagery from USGS, temperatures of the five solar farms were compared to before and after the farm was installed. Additionally, temperatures of the Spotsylvania solar farm were compared to three nearby areas of different land uses: Fawn Lake neighborhood, Oakley Forest, and Central Park shopping complex. Results show that in all five farms there is some degree of warming, the largest being at Sadler Solar farm with a 9° change, and the smallest being a 2° difference at Eastern Shore Solar. In the comparison of Spotsylvania Solar to the other locations, it had a difference of 5°, -8°, and .5° from Oakley Forest, Central Park, and Fawn Lake. Statistical testing will be done to determine the significance of these differences. It is important to consider that while there is some warming in these areas, solar farms are built to reduce fossil fuel use that is causing warming on a global scale.