Details
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 101502 |
| Number of pages | 14 |
| Journal | Energy strategy reviews |
| Volume | 55 |
| Early online date | 22 Aug 2024 |
| Publication status | Published - Sept 2024 |
Abstract
In densely populated countries, land competition is a key challenge in light of a growing population and the land-intensive decarbonization of energy supply. We apply an energy system model using linear optimization to Germany as an example for a densely populated and industrialized nation with a high energy demand to show how land competition affects the economics of land-intensive renewable energies. Bioenergy crops are currently cultivated on 6.5% of Germany's land area. We find that allocating only 6% of the total land to the future energy system, which is even less than the current allocation to bioenergy crops, allows for a system that is close to the cost-minimum that we calculate when not restricting the land area. This 6% of the land area is divided into 4% for photovoltaics (PV), 2% for onshore wind and 0% for bioenergy crops. This would save 15 billion €/a (15.1%) relative to the system that matches current political targets for utility-scale PV. For areas exceeding this 6%, we find that the most cost-efficient utilization comes from bioenergy crops, but they only add value to the energy system if there is plenty of land available. The value of land to the energy system is at least twice as high for 0% remaining emissions when compared to the case of 10% remaining green house gas emissions, although both scenarios are separated by less than five years according to current German law. Both our findings underline that considering the value of land as early as possible is necessary when developing state policies that shall lead to cost-efficient renewable energy systems.
Keywords
- Bioenergy crops, Economics of renewable energies, Energy system analysis, Land competition, Solar energy
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Energy(all)
- Energy (miscellaneous)
Sustainable Development Goals
Cite this
- Standard
- Harvard
- Apa
- Vancouver
- BibTeX
- RIS
In: Energy strategy reviews, Vol. 55, 101502, 09.2024.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Land competition and its impact on decarbonized energy systems
T2 - A case study for Germany
AU - Schlemminger, Marlon
AU - Lohr, Clemens
AU - Peterssen, Florian
AU - Bredemeier, Dennis
AU - Niepelt, Raphael
AU - Bensmann, Astrid
AU - Hanke-Rauschenbach, Richard
AU - Breitner, Michael H.
AU - Brendel, Rolf
N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2024 The Authors
PY - 2024/9
Y1 - 2024/9
N2 - In densely populated countries, land competition is a key challenge in light of a growing population and the land-intensive decarbonization of energy supply. We apply an energy system model using linear optimization to Germany as an example for a densely populated and industrialized nation with a high energy demand to show how land competition affects the economics of land-intensive renewable energies. Bioenergy crops are currently cultivated on 6.5% of Germany's land area. We find that allocating only 6% of the total land to the future energy system, which is even less than the current allocation to bioenergy crops, allows for a system that is close to the cost-minimum that we calculate when not restricting the land area. This 6% of the land area is divided into 4% for photovoltaics (PV), 2% for onshore wind and 0% for bioenergy crops. This would save 15 billion €/a (15.1%) relative to the system that matches current political targets for utility-scale PV. For areas exceeding this 6%, we find that the most cost-efficient utilization comes from bioenergy crops, but they only add value to the energy system if there is plenty of land available. The value of land to the energy system is at least twice as high for 0% remaining emissions when compared to the case of 10% remaining green house gas emissions, although both scenarios are separated by less than five years according to current German law. Both our findings underline that considering the value of land as early as possible is necessary when developing state policies that shall lead to cost-efficient renewable energy systems.
AB - In densely populated countries, land competition is a key challenge in light of a growing population and the land-intensive decarbonization of energy supply. We apply an energy system model using linear optimization to Germany as an example for a densely populated and industrialized nation with a high energy demand to show how land competition affects the economics of land-intensive renewable energies. Bioenergy crops are currently cultivated on 6.5% of Germany's land area. We find that allocating only 6% of the total land to the future energy system, which is even less than the current allocation to bioenergy crops, allows for a system that is close to the cost-minimum that we calculate when not restricting the land area. This 6% of the land area is divided into 4% for photovoltaics (PV), 2% for onshore wind and 0% for bioenergy crops. This would save 15 billion €/a (15.1%) relative to the system that matches current political targets for utility-scale PV. For areas exceeding this 6%, we find that the most cost-efficient utilization comes from bioenergy crops, but they only add value to the energy system if there is plenty of land available. The value of land to the energy system is at least twice as high for 0% remaining emissions when compared to the case of 10% remaining green house gas emissions, although both scenarios are separated by less than five years according to current German law. Both our findings underline that considering the value of land as early as possible is necessary when developing state policies that shall lead to cost-efficient renewable energy systems.
KW - Bioenergy crops
KW - Economics of renewable energies
KW - Energy system analysis
KW - Land competition
KW - Solar energy
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85201734084&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.esr.2024.101502
DO - 10.1016/j.esr.2024.101502
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85201734084
VL - 55
JO - Energy strategy reviews
JF - Energy strategy reviews
SN - 2211-467X
M1 - 101502
ER -