Comprehensive Evaluation of Photovoltaic Solar Plants vs. Natural Ecosystems in Green Conflict Situations

Abstract

This study aims to develop a comprehensive method for evaluating the environmental cost/benefits of photovoltaic (PV) solar plant installation versus conserving natural ecosystems. First, the positive and negative impacts of installing PV solar plants in regions with natural ecosystems are reviewed. For focus and quantification, climate change mitigation and economic benefit were considered as benefits, and the loss of carbon sinks and biodiversity as well as disaster risk were considered as negatives. These items were also integrated as external costs using a life-cycle assessment method, and a ratio of positive versus negative impacts (P/N ratio) was developed, as part of our evaluation. The method was applied to a case study in Hyogo Prefecture, Japan, where 361 large PV solar plants have been installed in areas that previously supported natural ecosystems. Prior to the PV installation, 25.5% of the plants were cleared from the natural ecosystem. Consequently, the annualized benefits (costs) for these Hyogo plants were estimated to be 101.16 (73.88) million USD, which yielded a P/N ratio of 1.37, indicating that their benefits outweighed their costs. An economic benefit was found to be one of the parameters that significantly influenced the P/N ratio.

Electronics, Close-Range Sensors and Artificial Intelligence in Forestry

“…However, the altitude and slope were not used in this study because securing the time-series data was limited compared to other forest loss factors [123]. In the case of the photovoltaic solar plants, according to Mori and Tabata [125], there are benefits such as mitigation of climate change and economic benefits, but it can cause biodiversity due to forest loss, loss of carbon sinks, and risk of landslides. However, this study did not utilize it due to the limitation of securing time-series data.…”

Harnessing energy abundance - Sustainable expansion of ground mounted PV in Lower Saxony through harmonized spatial planning

“…At the same time many international studies focus on general, negative impacts on soil, microclimate, water, biodiversity or landscape [28][29][30][31]. However, integration of these ndings into spatial assessments are scarce [32][33][34][35].…”