The potential land requirements and related land use change emissions of solar energy
Abstract Although the transition to renewable energies will intensify the global competition for land, the potential impacts driven by solar energy remain unexplored. In this work, the potential solar land requirements and related land use change emissions are computed for the EU, India, Japan and S...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Nature Portfolio
2021-02-01
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| Series: | Scientific Reports |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-82042-5 |
| _version_ | 1818846212776787968 |
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| author | Dirk-Jan van de Ven Iñigo Capellan-Peréz Iñaki Arto Ignacio Cazcarro Carlos de Castro Pralit Patel Mikel Gonzalez-Eguino |
| author_facet | Dirk-Jan van de Ven Iñigo Capellan-Peréz Iñaki Arto Ignacio Cazcarro Carlos de Castro Pralit Patel Mikel Gonzalez-Eguino |
| author_sort | Dirk-Jan van de Ven |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Although the transition to renewable energies will intensify the global competition for land, the potential impacts driven by solar energy remain unexplored. In this work, the potential solar land requirements and related land use change emissions are computed for the EU, India, Japan and South Korea. A novel method is developed within an integrated assessment model which links socioeconomic, energy, land and climate systems. At 25–80% penetration in the electricity mix of those regions by 2050, we find that solar energy may occupy 0.5–5% of total land. The resulting land cover changes, including indirect effects, will likely cause a net release of carbon ranging from 0 to 50 gCO2/kWh, depending on the region, scale of expansion, solar technology efficiency and land management practices in solar parks. Hence, a coordinated planning and regulation of new solar energy infrastructures should be enforced to avoid a significant increase in their life cycle emissions through terrestrial carbon losses. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-19T05:41:58Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e922ca9143514071a1e605f13846ef5d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-19T05:41:58Z |
| publishDate | 2021-02-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj.art-e922ca9143514071a1e605f13846ef5d2022-12-21T20:34:00ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222021-02-0111111210.1038/s41598-021-82042-5The potential land requirements and related land use change emissions of solar energyDirk-Jan van de Ven0Iñigo Capellan-Peréz1Iñaki Arto2Ignacio Cazcarro3Carlos de Castro4Pralit Patel5Mikel Gonzalez-Eguino6Basque Centre for Climate Change (BC3)Research Group on Energy, Economy and System Dynamics, Escuela de Arquitectura, University of ValladolidBasque Centre for Climate Change (BC3)Basque Centre for Climate Change (BC3)Research Group on Energy, Economy and System Dynamics, Escuela de Arquitectura, University of ValladolidJoint Global Change Research Institute, Pacific Northwest National LaboratoryBasque Centre for Climate Change (BC3)Abstract Although the transition to renewable energies will intensify the global competition for land, the potential impacts driven by solar energy remain unexplored. In this work, the potential solar land requirements and related land use change emissions are computed for the EU, India, Japan and South Korea. A novel method is developed within an integrated assessment model which links socioeconomic, energy, land and climate systems. At 25–80% penetration in the electricity mix of those regions by 2050, we find that solar energy may occupy 0.5–5% of total land. The resulting land cover changes, including indirect effects, will likely cause a net release of carbon ranging from 0 to 50 gCO2/kWh, depending on the region, scale of expansion, solar technology efficiency and land management practices in solar parks. Hence, a coordinated planning and regulation of new solar energy infrastructures should be enforced to avoid a significant increase in their life cycle emissions through terrestrial carbon losses.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-82042-5 |
| spellingShingle | Dirk-Jan van de Ven Iñigo Capellan-Peréz Iñaki Arto Ignacio Cazcarro Carlos de Castro Pralit Patel Mikel Gonzalez-Eguino The potential land requirements and related land use change emissions of solar energy Scientific Reports |
| title | The potential land requirements and related land use change emissions of solar energy |
| title_full | The potential land requirements and related land use change emissions of solar energy |
| title_fullStr | The potential land requirements and related land use change emissions of solar energy |
| title_full_unstemmed | The potential land requirements and related land use change emissions of solar energy |
| title_short | The potential land requirements and related land use change emissions of solar energy |
| title_sort | potential land requirements and related land use change emissions of solar energy |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-82042-5 |
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