Below, we look at which energy sources might use the most land, & also the least land.
We do this by looking at several measurements of land use, such as land use used per unit of electricity generated, along with other measurements.
We also look at some other aspects of energy related land use.
Summary – Energy Sources That Use The Most Land
How Much Land Energy Generation Uses Worldwide
Comparative to other uses for land, energy generation may make up a smaller % of total habitable land use worldwide
One report also indicates that land used for energy could increase significantly in the future
Why The Land Use Of Different Energy Sources Might Matter
Below, we list some of the reasons why land use for different energy sources might matter
How Energy Sources Use Land
We list some of the ways energy sources use land across their lifecycle below
Land Use For Just Power Generation vs Land Use Across All Energy Lifecycle Stages
Calculating the land footprint or land efficiency of different energy sources for just the power generation stage can produce different results than calculating the land footprint or land efficiency of different energy sources across all or most stages of the energy lifecycle
When taking all land use at all lifecycle stages into account, one report indicates that solar and wind might use less land than fossil fuels and nuclear.
Energy Sources That Use The Most Land – By Power Density
One generalised report measuring land use by power density indicated that …
Renewables like wind and hydro, but also biomass, may take up the most land
Fossil fuels like natural gas, but also nuclear, may take up the least land
A separate report seems to indicate a similar conclusions, indicating that water, wind and sunlight are more dilute as far as power density goes, and use more land than nuclear specifically
Energy Sources That Use The Most Land – Per Unit Of Electricity Generated
Below, we’ve paraphrased and summarised two different reports that discuss land use of different energy sources per unit of electricity produced.
Both reports might be read in full to get a better understanding of the inclusions, exclusions and qualifications of the data presented in each report.
What’s worth noting those is that different energy projects can have different variables, and so can different energy sectors and energy grids in different geographic locations worldwide. With this in mind, results from different reports are of a generalised nature only.
– Data Set 1
The first report may indicate that hydropower uses the most land according to median land use, followed by concentrating solar tower, coal power using CCS, and solar PV installed on the ground
Concentrating solar tower may have the highest potential maximum land use footprint
Nuclear power uses the least land according to median land use, followed by gas plant, gas plant using CCS, and solar PV silicon installed on roofs
When solar is placed on rooftops, on buildings, or on land where there is an existing building, there can be essentially no land footprint
Wind may have a very small land footprint when only considering the area of land that the base of wind turbines take up, and not the space in between them
– Data Set 2
The second report indicates that the land footprint of different energy sources may change depending on whether the ‘footprint’ or the ‘spacing area’ is used to express land use
With these things in mind, they mention that nuclear has the lowest median land use intensity, followed by geothermal, wind without spacing included, and residue biomass
Dedicated biomass has the highest median land use intensity, followed by wind including spacing, solar PV, and solar CSP
Gas, coal and hydro fall in the middle
They mention that rooftop solar has a footprint of close to zero, but rooftop solar and residue biomass may both specifically be hard to scale due to ‘technical and economic limitations’
Energy Sources That Use The Most Land – Alongside Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Another report provides data on the land use of different energy sources alongside their greenhouse gas emissions
Nuclear had one of the lowest land use intensity/GHG emissions combinations, along with wind (footprint), and integrated rooftop solar
Dedicated biomass appears to have a high land use intensity/GHG emissions combination, whilst the different fossil fuels like coal and natural gas had high emissions and middling land use intensity
Energy Sources That Allow Multiple Land Uses vs A Single Land Use
Some energy sources allow the land to be used for multiple land uses at once
Solar and also wind energy may be examples of this (in conjunction with farming for example)
Other energy sources may only allow the land to be used for one use – energy generation
Coal, gas and nuclear might be examples of these single land use types of energy sources
We list the potential effects of having multiple land uses vs a single land use below
The Potential To Reuse Land For Different Energy Sources
Some land used for different types of energy can be reused, whilst some might not be able to be reused (or, simply used over and over)
Land used for some renewable energy sources might be able to be reused in some capacity – such as by installing new solar panels
On the other hand, some fossil fuel mining sites might eventually be depleted to the point they have to be abandoned or can’t be reused
Installation & Energy Generation Versatility & Flexibility Of Some Energy Sources
Below, we explain how some energy sources like wind and solar might be more versatile or flexible than other energy sources in terms of where they can be installed, and how they can be used
How Future Improvements For Some Energy Sources May Impact Land Efficiency
Below, we explain how the improvement or development of some energy sources in the future may impact land efficiency or land use – especially if things like power density are improved
Potential For Inaccuracies & Errors In Calculating Land Use Of Energy Sources
Below, we list the several potential inaccuracies and errors that might occur in energy land use calculations
Potential For Environmental & Sustainability Impact Of Different Energy Sources On Land
Some energy sources may have different sustainability and environmental effects on the land they use
We list those potential effects below, such as land and soil degradation, and damaging surrounding ecosystems, habitats, etc.
How Much Land Does Energy Generation Currently Use Worldwide?
Now
Energy generation may use much less habitable land worldwide than other uses like agriculture
thebreakthrough.org indicates that:
… the current energy system only occupies about 0.4% of ice-free land worldwide, most of it for hydroelectric power generation … [and this % is much smaller than some other uses for land worldwide]
What we couldn’t be sure of from thebreakthrough.org’s information though, is whether it includes the full lifecycle and upstream infrastructure of different energy sources, or whether it’s just the land for the energy generation sites
In The Future
thebreakthrough.org also includes some data in their report on how much land use for energy generation could expand in the future
Why The Land Use Of Different Energy Sources Might Matter
The land use of different energy sources may play a role in:
– The efficient use of land as a resource
This may include factors such as the productivity/yield of land as a resource, but also considering the opportunity cost of alternate uses land can be put to
The productivity of other land uses can be compared to the productivity of land used for energy
Additionally, meeting needs with the land available may be a consideration, where the land could be used for things such as food production instead of energy generation
In this instance, some energy sources might be competing with other land uses
However, some energy sources like rooftop solar and offshore wind may not compete as much or at all with other land uses.
From phys.org:
… [in the future,] rooftop solar will [provide] clean power that doesn’t compete with other land uses. Offshore wind will help too …
– Sustainably managing land as a resource
Such as preventing or reducing potential land and soil degradation or pollution issues that some energy sources may subject land to
– The potential impact that using land for energy sources has on wild life, their habitats, and surrounding ecosystems
– The impact that using land for energy sources has on aesthetics
– Current energy use
In regions of the world where land is more scarce, or where land is expensive, there may be extra consideration given to land efficient sources of energy
– Future energy use
There may be extra consideration given to land efficient energy sources in regions of the world where land is more scarce
The Different Ways Energy Sources Can Use Land
Some reports only look at the land that energy sources use for the energy generation site or power plant.
But, looking at the full land footprint of different energy sources, they can use land for a range of things at different stages of their energy lifecycle
Some of the different ways energy sources can use land might include for:
– Mining/extraction
The mining or extraction of energy resources themselves (such as coal), but also the mining or extraction of metals and minerals used in energy equipment, as well as capital like power plants and reactors
– Processing and refining
Especially of fossil fuel by-products
– Manufacture of equipment
Such as solar panels and wind turbines
– The power generation site
Such as power plants, solar farms, wind farms, and so on
For energy sources that use a power plant as well as some type of fuel (like fossil fuels or biomass), storage area on the land might be required for either storing fuel (before use), or storing waste (before it’s disposed of, or taken away/managed off-site)
– Other supporting infrastructure
Such as land used for access and egress roads, railroads, pipelines (for fuel delivery, or gas), storage facilities, refineries, and other supporting infrastructure like power lines (electricity transmission lines), cooling water supplies, and infrastructure to generate, transport and distribute electricity
– Waste management
Waste by-products and energy equipment that’s reached the end of it’s lifespan (like solar panels for example) needs to be managed (and sometimes treated) as waste
Land Use At Just The Power Generation Stage vs Land Use Across All Energy Lifecycle Stages
Reports on land use footprints of the different energy sources can include land use at just the energy generation stage e.g. the land used for just the site where the power plant is
But, they can also include land used across all or most of the energy lifecycle stages (i.e. not just the site where power or energy generation happens)
Another way to say this is that land use can include upstream infrastructure as well as downstream infrastructure (i.e. upstream and downstream from the stage at which energy is generated)
In terms of stages, we listed some of these main stages above, but, to clarify – they can include mining/extraction, manufacture, transport of energy, energy generation, supporting infrastructure, waste management, and so on.
When taking all land use at all lifecycle stages into account, one report indicates that solar and wind might use less land than fossil fuels and nuclear.
Fossil fuel infrastructure may have potential for significant land use.
Total Land Use Of Fossil Fuels, & Land Use Of Fossil Fuel Instrastructure
From cleantechnica.com:
[The total land footprint of all gas wells, road, storage facilities, fueling stations, gas pipes, refineries and all fossil fuel dedicated land can be larger in California that the site/s at which power is generated …]
Total Land Use Of Fossil Fuels vs Wind & Solar
Paraphrased from cleantechies.com:
[When taking into account fossil fuel plants’ substantial upstream infrastructure, wind energy and solar power use less land than fossil-fueled power plants or nuclear reactors]
Energy Sources That Use The Most Land – By Power Density
One generalised report provided data on land use by power density.
Renewables like wind and hydro, but also biomass, may take up the most land
Renewables using water, wind and sunlight might be more dilute than a power source like nuclear, and use much more land as a result
Fossil fuels like natural gas, but also nuclear, may take up the least land
According to one report, bioenergy and energy that comes from biomass in particular might have low power density, and there may be better uses for land (such as agriculture and food production) than using the land for growing biomass
Land Use By Power Density
phys.org summarises:
… land use by power density [is] the average electrical power produced in one horizontal square metre of infrastructure …
[According to this measurement …] Biomass, hydro and wind … take up the most space.
Natural gas and nuclear take [the] least [space]
… renewable energies generally need more space than fossil fuels
[With renewables] the dilute nature of water, sunlight, and wind means that at least 450 times more land … than for nuclear plants (forbes.com)
Biomass Energy Specifically, & It’s Power Density
Also from phys.org:
… very low power densities of biomass make it a difficult sell [as a future renewable energy source], especially since the land on which it is produced can sometimes be used for growing food instead …
Energy Sources That Use The Most Land – Per Unit Of Electricity Generated
Below we’ve paraphrased and summarised two different reports that discuss land use of different energy sources per unit of electricity produced.
Both reports might be read in full to get a better understanding of the inclusions, exclusions and qualifications of the data presented in each report.
Data Set 1
Below are our paraphrased notes on the report from ourworldindata.org
They provide a breakdown of the energy sources that use the most land (in m2) per unit of electricity generated (in megawatt hours per annum) over their full lifecycle (and not just at the power generation site)
They give minimum, median and maximum land use results
Our summary of their breakdown is:
Oil is omitted from the breakdown as it’s primarily used in transport (and not for electricity generation)
Hydropower uses the most land according to median land use, followed by concentrating solar tower, coal power using CCS, and solar PV installed on the ground
Concentrating solar tower may have the highest potential maximum land use footprint
Nuclear power uses the least land according to median land use, followed by gas plant, gas plant using CCS, and solar PV silicon installed on roofs
Something they note is that onshore wind land use is different from other energy sources. Land in between the turbines can be utilised for other land uses (such as farming), and, spacing between turbines in addition to how the site is used exactly can be highly variable.
The actual area that wind turbines take up on a wind turbine site might be very small – similar to the land footprint of nuclear i.e. it might use very little land similar to nuclear
Offshore may also be different to onshore wind – offshore wind specifically uses marine land
They also note that solar panel farms are similar to wind turbine farms – the density and spacing of the panels can impact land use
Data Set 2
Below are our paraphrased notes on the report from thebreakthrough.org
They provide a breakdown of the land use intensity of different energy sources defined as area per unit of energy production – the number of hectares per terawatt-hour of electricity generation annually
The data in the breakdown is based on real world data from nine different electricity sources, and many different countries and US states
It includes both direct land use for power plants, and indirect land use for upstream production of fuels
For natural gas and also wind, they also delineate between a footprint, which is ‘land directly covered by infrastructure’, and spacing area is ‘the entire area within the perimeter of a production site’. An example is wind energy – the turbine pads and access/exit road are the footprint, and spacing is the entire area of the wind farm
Energy/electricity sources can be sorted by median land use
Our summary of their breakdown is:
Nuclear has the lowest median land use intensity, followed by geothermal, wind without spacing included, and residue biomass
Dedicated biomass has the highest median land use intensity, followed by wind including spacing, solar PV, and solar CSP
Gas, coal and hydro fall in the middle
They mention that rooftop solar has a footprint of close to zero, but rooftop solar and residue biomass may both specifically be hard to scale due to ‘technical and economic limitations’
Energy Sources That Use The Most Land – When Considering Greenhouse Gas Emissions
thebreakthrough.org also provides a breakdown of the land footprint of different energy sources compared to their greenhouse gas footprint
Our paraphrased notes from that breakdown are:
Nuclear had one of the lowest land use intensity/GHG emissions combinations, along with wind (footprint), and integrated rooftop solar
Dedicated biomass appears to have a high land use intensity/GHG emissions combination, whilst the different fossil fuels like coal and natural gas had high emissions and middling land use intensity
They include more detailed information on this measure of land use in their report
Energy Sources That Allow Multiple Land Uses vs A Single Land Use
Multiple Land Uses
Some energy sources allow land to be used for multiple land uses at the same time
Some examples might include:
– Solar panels installed on buildings, or at a home
– Some solar panels have been installed on some agricultural land in some regions of the world
– Onshore wind which can use the space between turbines for uses like farming
Paraphrased from cleantechnica.com:
[The multiple uses of land used for wind and solar need to be accounted for – they can be paired together, or even paired with agricultural land use]
Single Land Use
Other energy sources can only use land for one land use at a time i.e. for their own energy generation
Coal, gas and nuclear might be examples of these single land use types of energy sources
Paraphrased from cleantechnica.com:
[In California … most of the land used for fossil fuels can only be used for fossil fuels … i.e. it isn’t multi use like land used for some solar or wind]
Potential Effects Of The Number Of Land Uses
Whether land can be used for multiple land uses at once vs one land use at once, might impact the following things:
– The sustainable use of land as a resource
– The productivity or yield of the land
– And, the calculated land efficiency results of different energy sources
Other Information
ourworldindata.org discusses some of the above points in more detail in their report
The Potential To Reuse Land For Different Energy Sources
Land used for some renewable energy sources might be able to be reused in some capacity
On the other hand, some fossil fuel mining sites on the other land used by fossil fuel energy sources might eventually be depleted to the point they have to be abandoned or can’t be reused
Paraphrased from cleantechies.com:
[With solar and wind energy,] turbines or solar panels can be installed in the same space [when old ones wear out], or that land area can be converted back to its original use.
Meanwhile, oil and gas land use is unsustainable: wells run dry, wells have to be shut-in properly after the resources are exhausted, and new wells have to be drilled elsewhere and use more land.
Installation & Energy Generation Versatility & Flexibility Of Some Energy Sources
Some energy sources may be more versatile or flexible than others when it comes to installation or energy generation
Examples might include:
– Wind energy can be installed offshore, as well as onshore (on land)
– Solar panels can be installed on buildings, on vehicle roofs, and even carried around/transported as portable panels of different sizes
– Energy sources like hydro might also be able to make use of land sites that other energy sources can’t.
If it’s pumped storage hydro, the energy can be stored until it’s needed and doesn’t have to be used immediately
How Future Improvements For Some Energy Sources May Impact Land Efficiency
Some energy sources may experience an improvement in technology, or may specifically experience an improvement in capacity and performance
These things may impact their land efficiency
Solar is an example of an energy sources that may experience capacity and performance improvement in the future.
Rooftop solar and offshore wind may be some of the most land efficient forms of energy.
From phys.org:
Solar technology may increase power density and increase total land efficiency in the future:
… new three-dimensional designs could reach over three to five times today’s [power density] figures [for solar rooftop PV]
In addition, solar CSP that absorbs energy during the day could increase power production capacity for solar.
Potential For Inaccuracies & Errors In Calculating Land Use Of Energy Sources
There might be several ways that inaccuracies and errors can occur in energy land use calculations, including but not limited to:
– Not delineating between whether just the power generation site is included in calculations, or whether land use at other lifecycle stages is included too (and what lifecycle stages and land use exactly has been included)
– Not specifying whether the ‘footprint’ or the ‘spacing’ has been used to express land use for wind energy (and other energy sources where applicable)
– Not taking into consideration the impact of multiple land uses for wind energy, solar energy, and so on
– Not properly including and excluding land inside and outside the boundaries of wind farms and solar farms (and other sites for energy generation)
– General counting errors
From cleantechnica.com:
[Previous renewable energy land footprint studies might include errors like counting] land that was set aside for future project expansion and double counting of land where projects overlap.
Potential For Environmental & Sustainability Impact Of Different Energy Sources On Land
All energy sources might have some sort of environmental or sustainability impact
However, some energy sources may result in more of the following environmental and sustainability on land than others:
Including damage to the land itself, which might impact whether it can be used again
But also potentially soil pollution
Paraphrasing, phys.org and cleantechies.com may suggest that renewable energy sources may pollute land less than fossil fuels and nuclear
But, it might also be possible for large scale solar farms to cause land degradation too
Paraphrasing, cleantechnica.com may also suggest that wind and solar farms might use and degrade a lot of on shore and offshore land, and also forest areas
– Damage to ecosystems, habitat loss, and impact on wildlife and biodiversity
The establishment and operation of some energy source projects may impact local ecosystems, lead to local habitat loss, and impact local wildlife and biodiversity
As one example, renewable energy may result in less air and water pollution than some fossil fuel sources energy sources – so, the surrounding land may end up in better health
From thebreakthrough.org:
Today, there is twice as much ground-mounted as rooftop solar, and this is, in places like California, often located in natural habitats like scrublands and shrublands.
*Factors That May Impact The Environmental Impact Of Different Energy Sources
From thebreakthrough.org:
The … environmental impacts of [land used for energy depends …] on a variety of factors, such as whether ground-mounted solar PV can be sited on already disturbed land, the scalability of rooftop solar, and whether wind can be co-sited with agriculture.
Only half of US wind is currently co-sited with agriculture.
Sources
1. https://cleantechnica.com/2018/08/26/100-renewables-requires-less-land-footprint-than-reliance-on-fossil-fuels-in-california-realitycheck/
2. https://phys.org/news/2018-08-renewable-energy-sources-space-fossil.html
3. https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelshellenberger/2018/05/08/we-dont-need-solar-and-wind-to-save-the-climate-and-its-a-good-thing-too/#728d5978e4de
4. https://cleantechies.com/2015/07/06/study-proves-fossil-fuels-way-worse-for-land-use-than-renewables/
5. https://ourworldindata.org/land-use-per-energy-source
6. https://thebreakthrough.org/blog/whats-the-land-use-intensity-of-different-energy-sources
7. https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffmcmahon/2018/10/01/3-reasons-nuclear-reactors-are-more-expensive-in-the-west-hint-its-not-regulation/#1237136f5d1a
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