Land Surface Temperature Shows Negligible Difference Between Inside and Outside Photovoltaic Power Plants in China

Abstract The global rapid expansion of photovoltaic (PV) power plants has drawn considerable attention to their impacts on land surface temperature (LST), which is a crucial indicator of surface energy balance. However, previous studies mainly focused on individual plants or limited regions. In this study, the effects of ground‐mounted PV power plants on LST across China have been investigated in detail. The analysis integrates Thermal and Reanalysis Integrating Moderate‐resolution Spatial‐seamless (TRIMS) LST with the land component of the fifth generation of European ReAnalysis (ERA5‐Land), using a random forest regression model combined with the Shapley additive explanations (SHAP) method. The results show that PV power plants generally induce daytime warming (0.10°C) and nighttime cooling (−0.09°C) effects on LST relative to surrounding areas, and produce a nearly negligible daily warming (0.01°C) effect. Such effects are found in vegetated areas (cropland, woodland, grassland), particularly in woodlands. Daytime warming and nighttime cooling effects are the strongest in summer (0.29°C) and winter (−0.13°C), respectively. The daily effect is warming in summer (0.12°C) but cooling in winter (−0.05°C). Albedo, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), sensible heat flux, latent heat flux, wind speed, and downward shortwave radiation are identified as the key factors influencing LST differences between PV power plants and their surrounding areas (ΔLST). The contributions of these factors vary in both diurnal and seasonal cycles. These findings elucidate the local‐scale climate feedback initiated by PV installations through land‐atmosphere interactions, offering critical insights for the sustainable deployment of solar energy.