Post-doc in mesoscale modelling of solar farms environmental impacts (expression 
of interest)


Solar photovoltaic farms are being rapidly built worldwide at an unprecedented 
pace in order to meet the global demand and achieve net-zero targets. Together 
with wind energy, solar energy is going to be the main source of renewable 
energy by 2030 worldwide, with 354 GW deployed only in 2023 across the globe. 
Large farms, say of 50 MW or more, extend over 150 ha (1.5 km2 or approx. 100 
football pitches). With the deployment of thousands of solar panels in such vast 
land surface, the terrain’s properties will be altered, such as albedo (sunlight 
reflectance) or vegetation index, potentially generating changes in land-
atmosphere processes. These can lead to impacts to the microclimate, such as 
variation in humidity or land-surface temperature, when compared to the 
surrounding (unchanged) area. Such impacts on the microclimate scales need to be 
quantified over time derived from long-term studies, although these effects 
derive from cumulated instantaneous solar-farm induced effects. The latter 
relate to how large solar farms interact with the atmospheric boundary layer.

This 24-month post-doctoral position within the SOLES project that aims to 
investigate the microclimatic impact of solar farms using mesoscale simulations 
using the numerical weather prediction code WRF. The candidate will implement a 
new surface roughness model within WRF to better capture the turbulent mixing 
introduced by the solar farm canopy. On-site wind measurements have been 
provided by project partners to validate the near-surface predictions from WRF. 
The candidate must have previous experience with WRF or other numerical weather 
prediction models, especially if related to climate or weather studies. 
Knowledge about turbulence is desirable but not mandatory as she/he will work 
with other colleagues in the group who are developing the solar-farm 
parametrisation schemes based on microscale large-eddy simulations.

The host institution is CESGA (Galicia Supercomputing Centre) in Santiago de 
Compostela (Spain), which offers a unique work environment within a high-
performance computing centre, the second largest in Spain and one of the most 
important in Europe. CESGA provides a wide range of training modules for the 
applicant (ranging from machine learning, introduction to CUDA, heterogeneous 
programming on GPU with MPI, etc.) to develop further skills and enhance her/his 
capabilities alongside the activities in the SOLES project. We also offer a 
multidisciplinary environment with possibilities for short research stays at the 
three Galician Universities (UDC, USC and UVigo) and The University of 
Manchester (UK).

This is a call for expression of interest from potential candidates who should 
send their CV to the project PI: Dr Pablo Ouro (pablo.ouro@cesga.es). The 
candidates will be shortlisted with interviews to be held in mid-July for a 
start in September/October 2025, although there is flexibility around these 
dates if an excellent candidate is nominated. Salary will depend on the 
applicant’s experience but it is expected to range from 31,700€ (no post-doc 
experience) to 45,000€ (large number of years working as post-doc in similar 
areas). The position is initially for 24 months but with potential to be 
extended. We support flexible working requests.