The installation of solar panels on agricultural or vegetated land has been promoted as a strategy to increase renewable energy production. However, solar energy has been found to compete directly with arable land and managed forests. As a result, significant expansion of land-based solar PV could lead to indirect land-use change, resulting in deforestation, increased greenhouse gas emissions, biodiversity loss and environmental degradation in other regions.
Land use competition of solar PV panels
The installation of solar panels on agricultural or vegetated land has been promoted as a strategy to increase renewable energy production. However, solar energy has been found to compete directly with arable land and managed forests. As a result, significant expansion of land-based solar PV could lead to indirect land-use change, resulting in deforestation, increased greenhouse gas emissions, biodiversity loss and environmental degradation in other regions.
Nº 96
- Climate & Atmosphere
- Energy Emission Reduction
- Promotion of Solar Energy
some attempts made
past case
Region-1
Region-2
Region-3
Region-4
ongoing case
no attempts made
Land use competition of solar PV panels
1) Since 2011, Japan has been increasing its investment in solar energy. However, the country’s quest for a complete transition to renewable energy sources, particularly through solar photovoltaic (PV) systems, faces significant environmental challenges due to the limited amount of land available. In particular, forests are currently at risk of being used for the installation of solar PV projects, as there are fewer legal restrictions on land use in these areas compared to agricultural land. The installation of solar PV projects has resulted in the covering of large areas of wildlife sanctuaries and national parks, which are important natural habitats. This has had a direct impact on biodiversity and environmental balance, and has even led to increased greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
2) For India to achieve its net zero emissions target by 2050, it is estimated that the country will need approximately 1.7% to 2.5% of its total land area for solar energy production alone. However, achieving this goal may require the use of land currently earmarked for conservation, agriculture or housing. The challenge arises from the fact that there are no clear specifications or standardised land ownership and tenure rights across the country. This means that areas currently used for conservation purposes could potentially be officially designated as ‘zero impact areas’ and have solar panels installed on them.
- Facilitated the efforts to address the initial problem; Frustrated the efforts to address the initial problem
- Cascading (far-reaching effects following each other)
1) Nagatsuji, S. (2021, July 26). Thousands of Japan’s Solar Plants Encroach Forests, Rice Fields, Wildlife Sanctuaries. Japan Foward. Available at https://japan-forward.com/thousands-of-japans-solar-plants-encroach-forests-rice-fields-wildlife-sanctuaries/
Spivey, H. (2020). Governing the Fix: Energy Regimes, AccumulationDynamics, and Land Use Changes in Japan’s SolarPhotovoltaic Boom. Governing the Fix, 1690-1708. https://doi-org.proxy.library.uu.nl/10.1080/24694452.2020.1740080.
2) Worringham, C. (2021). Renewable Energy and Land Use in India by Mid-Century: Careful Planning Today Can Maximise the Benefits and Minimise the Costs of India’s History-Making Energy Transition . Intitute for Energy, Economics, and Financial Analysis, 1-16.
Van de Ven, D. J., Capellan-Peréz, I., Arto, I., Cazcarro, I., de Castro, C., Patel, P., & Gonzalez-Eguino, M. (2021). The potential land requirements and related land use change emissions of solar energy. Scientific reports, 11(1), 1-12.
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