Land-Use Requirements of Solar and Wind Power

Abstract

Rising shares of wind power and solar power in energy systems raises concerns overtheir land-use requirements (LURs) and associated impacts. Although abundantliterature is available on LURs of solar and wind power, existing estimates exhibit alarge variance, if not even inconsistency. This systematic review therefore evaluatespublished LURs for these technologies in the English scientific literature until early2023, in total 2,286 estimates. The choice of LUR estimates for renewable energiescauses significant variance in projections of total land required for the energytransition. In some cases, the associated variance is as large as variations due toscenario-based projections on the future deployment capacities of these technologiesglobally, thus, implying additional uncertainties for decarbonization. We find thatmethodological differences can explain the variance partly, but data documentation ispoor. We therefore call for improved standards in reporting LURs and provideguidelines for developing and applying LURs.