中國風力發電網(www.fenglifadian.com)訊：一項新的研究發現，風力發電大大地改變了當地的氣候，特別是夜間的溫度。德州中西部有著世界上最大的四座風力發電廠，科學家利用量測熱島效應（ urban heat islands）的方法，檢視一萬平方公里的衛星影像后發現，從2003年到2011年的夏季，超過95%有風力發電機的區域較沒有的區域夜間地表溫度平均高出0.65°C。一般情況下，在夜間，越接近地表的空氣溫度較低，而風扇會攪動空氣，將上層較溫暖的空氣帶到地表。這項研究發表在《自然‧氣候變遷》（Nature Climate Change），是首次透過衛星發現氣溫上升的證據，而不是僅在電腦模擬。科學家強調，該地區暖化的成因很簡單，就是風力發電快速發展，若拆除風扇這效應則會消失。
英文原文：
ScienceShot: Wind Farms Warm the Night

Large wind farms can substantially influence local climate, most notably by boosting nighttime temperatures, a new study suggests. Utilizing the same analytical techniques used to discern temperature trends in urban heat islands, researchers scrutinized satellite images of a 10,000-square-kilometer area of west-central Texas, home to four of the world’s largest wind farms (turbines near Fluvanna, Texas, shown). The team’s analyses revealed that in the 9-year period from 2003 through 2011, when more than 95% of the turbines in the area were erected, the average nighttime land-surface temperature during summer months in areas where wind farms were located increased by 0.65°C more than did temperatures in nearby areas without wind turbines. At night, when air at ground level is cooler than that found a few dozen meters up, turbulence generated by individual wind turbines stirs warm air downward to heat the surface, the team reports online today in Nature Climate Change. The warming rates measured in this study—the first to show temperature increases based on satellite data rather than computer simulations, the researchers note—are high simply because the region has experienced a rapid growth in wind farm development. The warming effect for any given wind farm will likely level off if no more turbines are added, the researchers report.

（中國風力發電網 ）