Impacts of Photovoltaic Farms on the Environment in the Romanian Plain

Abstract

Under the European Union (EU) energy efficiency targets that Romania has assumed, increasing the share of solar energy has been one of the main points to be considered. The most important solar energy resources are found in the lowlands and low hills in southern and south-eastern parts of the country. The current paper is focused on the Romanian Plain, which has the best environmental conditions to support the development of photovoltaic (PV) farms. One hundred and ten PV farms have been identified and mapped which cover a total area of 1393 hectares. Although it provides a clean and sustainable energy source, the related environmental implications of PV farms could be either positive or negative. In this study, some of the main categories of impacts have been selected for identification and analysis of their environmental consequences. Several indicators have been computed: the share of PV farms from the main land use/cover categories and main soil types, and the distance of PV farms to forests, water bodies, or protected areas. The overall results of the study reveal the current and potential impacts of PV farms in order to understand the interactions between the environment and the use of renewable energy sources and further support science-based solutions for sustainable development.

The potential land requirements and related land use change emissions of solar energy

“…Indirectly, solarland also competes with other land uses such as forest, grass-and scrubland. This structure is based on observed tendencies for solar siting in Europe, India, Japan and South-Korea (see Table S2 in SM), showing that mainly arable land is used for current USSE projects, and supported by academic literature 17,33,34,57,58 and solar industry reports 59,60 . Also, the optimal microclimate for solar energy production (based on insolation, air temperature, wind speed and humidity) is found over land that is currently used as cropland 61 , supporting the assumption that future investors will have a slight preference for cropland (in use or fallow) for the allocation of solar energy projects, among other factors such as flatness and connectivity in terms of roads and electricity grids 22 .…”

Spatio-Temporal Analysis of Solar Energy Potential for Domestic and Agricultural Utilization to Diminish Poverty in Jubek State, South Sudan, Africa

“…Though our study outcomes revealed that the study area have great potential for solar energy technologies, it is important to consider some drawbacks of such technology, such as negative direct and indirect impacts on natural resources i.e., water utilization and consumption, biodiversity, topsoil and dust, social wellbeing and air quality, transmission passages, and land use land cover alteration [26,27]. Such drawbacks can be overcome by proper policies and strategies that will reduce the negative effects on the ecosystem.…”

“…Such drawbacks can be overcome by proper policies and strategies that will reduce the negative effects on the ecosystem. However, in all aspects solar energy provides a practical solution for energy scarcity, especially in rural sites [27]. The flexibility of land tenure in South Sudan will promote the adaptation of solar technology at local and national levels, thus will create a friendly investment situation and will eventually assist the developmental activity and reduce poverty in the country.…”

“…Despite the environmental and social benefits given by solar energy technologies, it also supports remarkable negative direct and indirect impacts on water utilization and consumption, biodiversity, topsoil and dust, social wellbeing and air quality, transmission passages, land use land cover alteration [26,27].…”

An Improved Bare Bone Multi-Objective Particle Swarm Optimization Algorithm for Solar Thermal Power Plants

“…Solar power can be used to generate electricity wherever there is sunshine. Therefore, in the context of the growing global energy demand and increasing concerns relating to resources, environment and climate, governments worldwide have developed a range of policies and incentive mechanisms to promote the development and roll-out of renewable generation technologies for solar and wind energy sources [5]. Solar thermal power generation technology is a relatively mature technology which mainly uses the solar concentrating system to convert the solar energy to a high temperature steam and then drives the generators to generate electricity [6].…”