Renewable Energy and Landscape Quality (original) (raw)
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Renewable energy sources: conflicts and opportunities in a changing landscape
Regional Environmental Change, 2017
Replacement of conventional energy sources with renewables such as solar panels and wind turbines requires adequate land. Impact assessments should be conducted to identify sites exhibiting least conflict with current and future land uses and corresponding ecosystem services. We assessed the electricity potential and geographical distribution of wind turbines and solar panels for current land use and three Swiss land use scenarios. The future scenario A2 with limited construction regulations, a liberalized market and more building surfaces increases the electricity potential for solar panels by 69% from 16.6TWh (potential under current land use and regulations) to a future 28.2TWh. An increase of approximately 26% from solar panels is expected for scenarios B2 (regionalized economy) and trend. Wind-electricity potential could increase by 61% from 93 to 150TWh under A2, and 29% under a B2 or trend scenario. However, whereas the electricity potential for solar panels remains largely unaffected by conflicts with ecosystem services, electricity production from wind could be reduced by as much as 98% due to conflicts with ecosystem services such as "Physical and experiential interaction", "Aesthetic aspects of landscapes" and Habitat and gene pool protection". Depending on the scenario used, low-conflict sites for solar panels and wind turbines could contribute between 85% (trend and B2 scenario) and > 100% (A2 scenario) to the Swiss energy target of 25TWh of new renewable energies by 2050. This includes expected technological developments. Positive impacts of sustainable energy production on regional economies is moderate and will not lead to strong changes in regional economic development.
Renewable Energies and European Landscapes Lessons from Southern European Cases
Abstract Wind farms in Portugal have spread enormously during the last decade and are transforming social and physical landscapes. The map of classifi ed áreas in the country shows a great overlap between main sites of potential wind development and protected areas. Starting from case studies in different regions where wind power has been recently developed, we approach issues of landscape management, protection, fruition, and how they are intertwining with energy policies. Through ethnographic lenses, our aim is to understand how global issues are perceived at local level, selecting as case studies projects involving protected areas in Portugal.
An Exploration of the Land–(Renewable) Energy Nexus
Land
The need to understand the connection between land and energy has gained prominence in the calls to opt for renewable energy as part of the climate change mitigation actions. This need derives from the fact that renewable energy resources are site-specific and require rightful access and use of land. The impacts on landscape, land tenure, and land-use patterns of constructing energy facilities are significant, and they may subsequently undermine the authority of local communities. Still, the connection between land and energy is not yet part of integrated development policies and political debates when deciding on renewable energy projects. Therefore, this study critically reviews the land–energy nexus with the aim to understand and explain how the uptake of renewable energy is shaping the land–energy nexus and how renewable energy technologies are evolving and interacting in different regions of the world, particularly in the Global South. Theoretically, the land–energy nexus tends...
Sustainable energy options and implications for land use
2017
This Global Land Outlook working paper is one of a series that aims to synthesize and compile know¬ledge, focus on the land-energy nexus (i.e., taking into account food and water) and provi¬de data, contexts, and recom¬men¬da¬tions on the interaction between energy and land. The normative framework for analysis will be the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Since the mandate of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) is to combat global desertification and land degradation, the land "footprint" of energy supply and use, referred to in SDG 15, is of particular inte¬rest. Currently, approximately 90 percent of global energy demand is met from non-renewable energy (mainly fossil), which leaves its footprint on land through resource extraction (e.g., coal mi¬ning), conversion (e.g., refineries, power plants) and their respective infrastructure (e.g., pipelines, fuel storage, transmission lines). Similarly, the development of renewable energies, such ...
International Journal of Energy Research, 2020
Although the transition to energy supply through renewables (RE) is, in general, politically accepted in Germany, its progress is slowed by conflicting interests, primarily nature conservation and protesting residents. This study aims to find ways to solve these conflicts in Germany. To this end, the researchers developed a geospatial model that calculates RE potentials and vulnerabilities of nature and humans. Both data input and some evaluation standards are variables in the model. The outcomes are compared to an estimated total energy demand in 2050. Two ambitious scenarios ("no regret" and "compromise") show that a maximum of 4% of the German territory is available to meet the energy demand. This demand can be met using PV in urban areas and wind in rural landscapes without significantly impairing nature's and people's wellbeing. Solar parks and other potentials not considered in the model are treated as a reserve, which can be included if the energy targets are not met under the assumed scenario conditions. Such reserves also provide flexibility for co-determination in public participation.
Energy landscape research – Lessons from Southern Europe ?
2017
a Institute for Social Research, York University, Toronto, Canada (*corresponding author: B. Greer-Wootten, e-mail: bryngw@yorku.ca) The Moravian Geographical Reports does not often publish Book Reviews (let alone essays), but this new book on “Renewable Energies and European Landscapes”1 is a well-deserved exception to the rule! It is an edited collection of essays gathered together by Frolova (University of Granada, Spain), Prados (University of Sevilla, Spain) and Nada� (Centre International de Recherche sur l’Environnement et le Développement: CIRED –CNRS, France), based on a series of Workshops organised under the auspices of several agencies (from both Spain and France) in the period from 2007 to the present. In particular, the Spanish Network on Renewable Energies and Landscape (RESERP) began in 2010, with an emphasis on wind and solar power. Published by a well–respected agency, the question can be clearly stated at the outset: Do the editors fulfil their ambitious agenda of...
Energy landscape research :lessons from Southern Europe? : review essay
2017
The Moravian Geographical Reports does not often publish Book Reviews (let alone essays), but this new book on "Renewable Energies and European Landscapes" is a well-deserved exception to the rule! It is an edited collection of essays gathered together by Frolova (University of Granada, Spain), Prados (University of Sevilla, Spain) and Nadaï (Centre International de Recherche sur l'Environnement et le Développement: CIRED -CNRS, France), based on a series of Workshops organised under the auspices of several agencies (from both Spain and France) in the period from 2007 to the present. In particular; the Spanish Network on Renewable Energies and Landscape (RESERP) began in 2010, with an emphasis on wind and solar power. Published by a well-respected agency, the question can be clearly stated at the outset: Do the editors fulfil their ambitious agenda of providing case studies of value for the emerging research on landscapes of renewable energies of Europe, writ large, i....
Review Essay. Energy landscape research – Lessons from Southern Europe?
Moravian Geographical Reports, 2017
The Moravian Geographical Reports does not often publish Book Reviews (let alone essays), but this new book on "Renewable Energies and European Landscapes" 1 is a well-deserved exception to the rule! It is an edited collection of essays gathered together by Frolova
2017
The designations employed and the presentation of material in this information product do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) or the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) concerning the legal or development status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The mention of specific companies or products of manufacturers, whether or not these have been patented, does not imply that these have been endorsed or recommended by UNCCD or IRENA in preference to others of a similar nature that are not mentioned. The views expressed in this information product are those of the authors or contributors and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of UNCCD or IRENA or their members.
2014
The drive for sustainable energy production is leading to an increased deployment of land based renewable systems which have acquired a widespread and relevant role in the transformation of landscape, sensibly affecting its perception by people and therefore eventually finding resistance at a local level. Within this context it is important to define landscape as “an area, as perceived by people, whose character is the result of the action and interaction of natural and/or human factors”, according to the European Landscape Convention (Florence, 20.X.2000) and to envisage renewable energy systems as encompassing devices for production transportation and stocking of energy. Hence the impact of energy devices on landscape is multifaceted: including visible and invisible factors, large and small scale consequences, environmental, social, political and economic issues, involving stakeholders at different levels and, moreover, resulting in short and long term effects and thus requiring t...