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There is localized cooling in the cell. Some photon energy that would have been thermalized immediately in a dark-colored simple absorber is carried away as electricity instead. But that electricity is, ultimately, used and thermalized somewhere else on Earth, so it doesn't have a cooling effect on the planet as a whole.

Additionally, the albedo of solar modules is lower than e.g. empty desert, so the net effect of installing a large solar array on such land is to slightly increase localized temperature. Accounting for increased albedo is why the IPCC's global warming assessment of utility-scale solar puts its warming impact a bit above that of rooftop solar. Rooftops are already lower in albedo, so adding solar modules doesn't darken them as much. Both rooftop and large desert-based solar have much lower warming potential than any form of fossil combustion, of course.




Thank you for the excellent explanation!




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