The Hidden Heat

How Renewable Energy Projects are Fueling a North-to-South Heat Island Along the Great Dividing Range

Written by Dr Anne S. Smith

Abstract:

This article critically examines the cumulative environmental costs of large-scale wind and solar farm installations across Queensland, particularly focusing on their contribution to a continuous heat island effect along the Great Dividing Range. These projects, intended to combat climate change, are instead raising local temperatures, threatening biodiversity, agriculture, and marine ecosystems. The article explores the heating impacts of renewable energy installations, using case studies from Australia and internationally, to demonstrate that the increased regional heating may surpass the benefits of reducing carbon emissions. A call is made for urgent policy revision to address the unintended consequences of these projects on ecosystems, including the Great Barrier Reef.

Introduction:

Queensland’s rush toward renewable energy has overlooked an alarming consequence: the creation of a massive heat island extending along the Great Dividing Range, from the northern tropical forests to the southern temperate zones. This relentless expansion of solar and wind farms, framed as a pathway to achieving net-zero emissions, will instead intensify local heating, undoing the very goals they were designed to accomplish. As these installations stretch from inland regions to the coast, their cumulative effect will create a thermal corridor that threatens Queensland's ecosystems, agriculture, and even the nearby oceans, including the Great Barrier Reef (Zhang et al., 2020, p. 635; Gannon & Bailey, 2021, p. 8).

Heat Island Effect and Temperature Increases:

The heat island effect is a well-documented phenomenon, whereby built environments absorb and re-radiate more heat than natural landscapes. Solar farms, in particular, exacerbate thiseffect due to their large surface areas, which capture and reflect solar radiation. Wind farmsalso contribute by disrupting natural air currents, altering local climate dynamics (Manning, 2023, p. 14). In Queensland, the clustering of renewable energy projects across the Great Dividing Range is creating a "thermal belt," where increased temperatures are observed in areas surrounding wind and solar farms.

A study conducted by Barron-Gafford et al. (2016) on large solar farms in the United States found that solar panels increased the surrounding area's temperatures by up to 4°C. These findings are particularly concerning for Queensland, where vast tracts of land have been cleared for similar installations, and the cumulative effect of multiple large-scale projects may drive significant regional warming (Barron-Gafford et al., 2016, p. 8).

The situation becomes even more dire when considering the clearing of natural vegetation, which plays a crucial role in cooling through evapotranspiration. In the absence of forests, heat accumulates, increasing not only the surface temperature but also the atmospheric temperature, leading to long-lasting changes in local climate patterns (Zhang et al., 2020, p. 635).

Blasting Mountain Tops and Soil Erosion:

Queensland’s rugged terrain along the Great Dividing Range presents significant engineering challenges for renewable energy installations, often necessitating the flattening of mountain tops. This practice exacerbates environmental degradation, including soil erosion. The loss of topsoil, coupled with deforestation, further destabilizes local ecosystems, triggering increased sediment runoff into rivers and the ocean (Rainforest Reserves Australia, 2023, p. 23). The sedimentation negatively affects coastal ecosystems, notably the Great Barrier Reef, where increased turbidity and nutrient overload can lead to widespread coral death (Brodie et al., 2017, p. 225).

International Case Study: China's Gobi Desert Solar Farms

China’s massive solar farms in the Gobi Desert provide a cautionary case study of how large- scale solar installations can inadvertently increase regional temperatures. In a study conducted by Li et al. (2018), it was found that the surface temperature in areas surrounding China’s largest solar farms had risen by approximately 3.2°C, confirming the profound heat island effects of large-scale renewable projects in arid regions (Li et al., 2018, p. 392). The Gobi Desert case parallels the situation in Queensland, where similarly large-scale installations are being developed across vast tracts of land, albeit in a more ecologically sensitive and biodiverse environment. The difference, however, is that the solar farms in Queensland are situated near critical ecosystems, like the Great Barrier Reef, amplifying the risk of ecological disaster if the warming effects are not mitigated. The increased heat from these installations could accelerate ocean warming, further endangering coral reefs and marine life (Wolanski, 2022, p. 712).

Habitat Destruction and Wildlife Extinction:

The destruction of forests to make way for renewable energy projects is leading to significant biodiversity losses, particularly among species like the koala and the greater glider. These species depend on contiguous forests for survival, and the fragmentation caused by wind and solar farms creates isolated pockets of habitat that are unable to sustain viable populations (Crowther et al., 2022, p. 166). The compounding effect of both habitat loss and rising temperatures from the heat island effect further accelerates the decline of these endangered species (InQueensland, 2023, p. 19).

The Cumulative Heat Impact: From Land to Ocean

The expansion of renewable energy projects across the Great Dividing Range will not only alter terrestrial environments but also impacting coastal ecosystems. The heat generated by solar and wind farms, coupled with the sediment runoff from deforested areas, will contribute to higher sea surface temperatures, which are a key factor in coral bleaching events. The Great Barrier Reef, already under stress from climate change, is particularly vulnerable to these additional pressures (Brodie et al., 2017, p. 230).

The combined effect of land clearing, sedimentation, and localized warming poses a dire threat to the resilience of the reef. As these heat islands expand, the surrounding ocean's capacity to absorb heat decreases, leading to more frequent and severe bleaching events. This phenomenon was observed during the 2016 bleaching event, where an unusually warm sea surface temperature led to the death of a third of the corals in the northern Great Barrier Reef (Wolanski, 2022, p. 715).

Legislative and Ethical Concerns:

Despite the intentions behind renewable energy projects, there are significant legislative and ethical issues at play. The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) ostensibly provides protections for endangered species and sensitive ecosystems.

However, the lack of enforcement in renewable energy zones, particularly in areas designated as critical habitat, raises serious concerns about the efficacy of environmental protections in the face of industry pressure (Rainforest Reserves Australia, 2023, p. 24). Moreover, the ethical question of whether large-scale renewable projects should proceed in ecologically fragile regions like Queensland remains unanswered. While there is a need to reduce carbon emissions, this cannot be achieved at the expense of biodiversity and long-term ecosystem health.

Conclusion:

Queensland’s transition to renewable energy will create significant and continuous heat island effect along the Great Dividing Range, with severe consequences for both terrestrial and marine ecosystems. The cumulative heating from these renewable energy installations may exacerbate climate change, rather than mitigate it, by increasing local and regional temperatures. International case studies, such as those from China, further illustrate the dangers of large-scale renewable projects in fragile environments. Without urgent policy reform and more sustainable approaches, the environmental cost of these projects will outweigh their benefits, pushing Queensland’s ecosystems—and the Great Barrier Reef— closer to the brink of collapse.

References:

1. Barron-Gafford, G., Minor, R., Allen, N., Cronin, A., Brooks, A., and Pavao-

Zuckerman, M. (2016). "The Photovoltaic Heat Island Effect: Larger solar power

plants increase local temperatures." Nature Scientific Reports, 6(1), 1-8.

2. Brodie, J., Waterhouse, J., Lewis, S., & Mitchell, A. (2017). "Current loads of priority

pollutants discharged from Great Barrier Reef catchments to the Great Barrier Reef."

Marine Pollution Bulletin, 115(1-2), 225-240.

3. Crowther, M. S., Lunney, D., & Shannon, S. (2022). "Future of Koalas in

Queensland." Wildlife Research, 49(2), 162-170.

4. Gannon, E., & Bailey, D. (2021). "Renewables, Heat Islands, and the Queensland

Paradox." Energy Policy Journal, 72(3), 5-10.

5. Harvard Gazette. (2023). Clearing forests to erect solar panels may not be clean-

energy solution. Retrieved from Harvard Gazette.

6. InQueensland. (2023). The green paradox: How the rush to fast-track renewable

projects may be destroying habitat. InQueensland. pp. 18-21.

7. Institute for Energy Research. (2022). Solar Power Depletes Farmlands of Rich Soil.

IER. pp. 5-8.

8. Li, H., Wu, X., & Zhao, Z. (2018). "Unintended climatic consequences of large-scale

solar power installations in arid regions: A case study in China’s Gobi Desert."

Environmental Research Letters, 13(3), 390-395.

9. Manning, A. (2023). Clearing forests to erect solar panels may not be clean-energy

solution. Harvard Gazette. pp. 12-14.

10. Rainforest Reserves Australia. (2023). Impacts of large-scale renewables on

Queensland's biodiversity. Rainforest Reserves Australia. pp. 22-25.

11. Wolanski, E. (2022). "Coral reefs in a changing climate." *Journal

About the author:

Dr Anne S. Smith, PhD, MHRM, GradDipMan., GradDipLabStudies, DipPhot., Environmental Research Strategist

Dr Anne S. Smith is an Environmental Research Strategist with a PhD focused on building resilience, wellbeing, and capacity in crisis-impacted communities. Her work spans environmental systems analysis, strategic planning, and advocacy, with a strong focus on protecting Australia’s unique habitats and biodiversity from industrial-scale destruction masquerading as “green” progress.

She has led detailed investigations into the overlooked environmental toll of wind, solar, and battery installations from forest fragmentation to heat island effects and mass species displacement. Her research consistently exposes the failure of Australia’s renewable rollout to account for full lifecycle emissions, land degradation, and carbon mismanagement, highlighting how inaccurate carbon accounting has become a smokescreen for corporate gain.

Dr Smith continues to call for policy grounded in truth, science, and stewardship not ideology. She warns that the current energy experiment is not only economically reckless, but ecologically irreversible.