China’s wind farms have a role in its renewable energy future, can they also ease effects of dust storms?
- A wind tunnel experiment finds that a turbine can cause more than 50 per cent of the dust and sand in the air nearby to sink and stay on the ground
- China has the largest wind power capacity in the world, with many turbines installed in the Gobi Desert
In spring, northwest winds used to blow from Siberia and the Mongolian Plateau, carrying large amounts of sand from the Gobi Desert and engulfing China’s north in yellow dust and sand.
But some believe China’s massive wind farms can play a similar role in mitigating the effects of dust storms.
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A group of researchers at Lanzhou University of Technology, in northwestern Gansu province, found during a wind tunnel experiment that a turbine could cause more than 50 per cent of the dust and sand in the air nearby to sink and stay on the ground.
The study was published in the Chinese peer-reviewed Journal of Huazhong University of Science and Technology last month.
“The wind farms in the northwest are in the path of dust storms, so we want to see if they can operate like the shelter forest,” said Ma Gaosheng, corresponding author of the study and an associate professor at the university, referring to the Great Green Wall project.
He said China had the largest wind power capacity in the world, with many of its turbines installed in the Gobi Desert in the northwest of China.