RESEARCH

February 2023

Addressing the challenge of photovoltaic growth: Integrating multiple objectives towards sustainable green energy development

Virgilio Hermoso, Gerard Bota, Lluis Brotons, Alejandra Morán-Ordónez

Solar photovoltaic (PV) energy production has increased significantly in recent decades. This increase has positive effects, in terms of contributing to climate change mitigation, and also negative effects, in terms of land use changes associated with PV installations. In order to maximize the former and reduce the latter, proper planning is important to minimize potential conflicts with biodiversity and its conservation.

The paper considers three possible scenarios for photovoltaic development, concluding that the most compatible scenario with biodiversity conservation would be to distribute photovoltaic production according to the area available in each region rather than distributing it homogeneously or grouping it according to the energy needs of its population.

Reference: Hermoso, V., Bota, G., Brotons, L., & Morán-Ordóñez, A. (2023). Addressing the challenge of photovoltaic growth: Integrating multiple objectives towards sustainable green energy development. Land Use Policy, 128, 106592.

Investigacion PUB Addressing 1

Distribution of cells selected for photovoltaic projects (in red) from the set of all available cells (in grey) in the three different scenarios tested in this study (homogeneous across Catalonia, according to the demand in each area and according to the available area). Areas that were not suitable for PV projects are shown in white. The black dots pinpoint the capitals of the four provinces of Catalonia (Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona), which concentrate the population and energy demand of the region.

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