The European Environmental Bureau (EEB) says that 2.2% of the entire land space of the European Union might host all of the photo voltaic and wind tasks wanted to get rid of fossil fuels and nuclear energy, attaining local weather neutrality by 2040.
The EEB says there may be sufficient land to increase photo voltaic and wind power in Europe with out compromising meals manufacturing or the atmosphere.
The report, “Land for Renewables: Communicating the spatial necessities for a sustainable power transition in Europe,” stated that 2.2% of the entire land within the European Union is required for present and future photo voltaic and wind tasks to get rid of fossil gas and nuclear energy and obtain local weather neutrality by 2040.
The evaluation used obtainable datasets and EU paperwork to construct on the preliminary territorial evaluation of the EU Joint Research Center, which estimated that 5.2% of the land of the European Union is appropriate for renewable tasks. .
The best suited land is in rural areas, together with 78% of the area for ground-mounted photo voltaic, though areas of excessive pure or agricultural worth aren’t included. The analysis concludes that city and industrial areas alone can not meet all of Europe’s photo voltaic wants.
Much appropriate rural land is degraded agricultural land with low productiveness and excessive danger of abandonment, which offers a possibility to revitalize these areas, assist the native financial system, and create jobs. The report says that renewables can go hand in hand with agriculture and nature by means of agrivoltaics and requires clear standards to facilitate and prioritize the usage of agrivoltaic methods in these rural areas.
The EEB stated that with a view to meet the renewable potential outlined within the report, interconnectivity and integration between EU international locations is crucial. It famous that Germany and Italy face land limitations, whereas Spain and Romania have extra land, and burdened {that a} European interconnected supergrid is crucial to deal with any disparity.
“Renewable energies may be developed with out harming meals provides or pure habitats. Evidence means that Europe has sufficient land for the sustainable enlargement of renewables, excluding biodiversity-rich zones and productive agricultural lands, particularly in rural areas, “stated Cosimo Tansini, EEB coverage officer for renewables. “By adopting participatory processes and robust mitigation measures to attenuate environmental impacts, we will use renewable power to revive the land, profit communities, and assist these rural financial system.”
This content material is protected by copyright and might not be reused. If you wish to cooperate with us and wish to reuse a few of our content material, please contact: [email protected].
Popular content material
