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The overlooked threat of land take from wind energy infrastructures: Quantification, drivers and policy gaps.

Authors :
Kati V
Kassara C
Panagos P
Tampouratzi L
Gotsis D
Tzortzakaki O
Petridou M
Psaralexi M
Sidiropoulos L
Vasilakis D
Zakkak S
Galani A
Mpoukas N
Source :
Journal of environmental management [J Environ Manage] 2023 Dec 15; Vol. 348, pp. 119340. Date of Electronic Publication: 2023 Oct 22.
Publication Year :
2023

Abstract

Wind harnessing is a fast-developing and cost-effective Renewable Energy Source, but the land impacts of wind power stations are often overlooked or underestimated. We digitized land take, i.e., the generation of artificial land, derived from 90 wind power stations in Greece constructed between 2002 and 2020 (1.2 GW). We found substantial land take impacts of 7729 m <superscript>2</superscript> /MW (3.5 m <superscript>2</superscript> /MWh) of new artificial land, 148 m/MW of new roads and 174 m/MW of widened roads on average. Models showed that the number and size of wind turbines, the absence of other existing infrastructures and the elevational difference across new access roads increased artificial land generation. The elevational difference across new and widened access roads also increased their length. New wind power stations in Greece are planned to be installed at higher elevations and in terrains facing higher risks for soil erosion and soil biodiversity. The general tendency in the European Union is to sit fewer wind power stations in mountainous and forested land. Still, this pattern is inversed in several countries, particularly in Southern Europe. After screening 29 policy and legal documents, we found that land take is indirectly inferred in the global policy but more directly in the European policy through five non-legally binding documents and three Directives. However, the current European energy policies seem to conflict with nature conservation policies, risking land take acceleration. The study provides insights for reducing land take when planning and constructing wind power stations. We underline the need for better quantification of land take and its integration in the complex process of sustainable spatial planning of investments.<br />Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.<br /> (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
1095-8630
Volume :
348
Database :
MEDLINE
Journal :
Journal of environmental management
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
37875053
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.119340