A new study from Lancaster University has found that meeting the UK’s highest solar capacity targets would require a relatively small proportion of available land.
Published in Progress in Energy and conducted in collaboration with NextEnergy Capital, the study used satellite imagery to analyse how much land is currently occupied by solar power plants.
The research indicates that to reach the government’s 2030 target of 50 GW of solar capacity – maintaining the current balance of rooftop and ground-mounted systems – an additional 0.22% of land would be needed.
For the more ambitious 90 GW target by 2050, this figure would rise to 0.39%. If all new installations were ground-mounted, 0.4% and 0.72% of land would be required respectively.
This study produced the first solar farm dataset compiled using manual digitisation from satellite images. It estimates between 15,580 and 17,364 hectares of land are currently used for solar projects.
The range accounts for differences between satellite imagery and sites registered in the government’s Renewable Energy Planning Database.
According to lead author Dr Hollie Blaydes, “having an accurate figure of UK solar farmland use is essential for properly informing future strategic planning decisions around energy and food security, boosting biodiversity and fulfilling our net zero commitments.”
The study found that around 95% of solar farmland was previously agricultural, split mainly between arable land and improved grassland.
However, accurately assessing the quality of this land remains difficult, as existing agricultural land quality maps are considered too outdated for precise planning.
Co-author Professor Alona Armstrong notes, “land use for solar in the UK is set to continue to grow given our net zero target.
“Ensuring that they also deliver benefits to nature as well as continue to support food production will help mitigate growing land use pressure.”
[Image credit: NextEnergy Solar Fund]
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