 The future scope of large-scale solar in the UK: Site suitability and target analysisDiane Palmer, Ralph Gottschalg and Tom Betts Renewable Energy, 2019, vol. 133, issue C, 1136-1146 Abstract: This paper uses site suitability analysis to identify locations for solar farms in the UK to help meet climate change targets. A set of maps, each representing a given suitability criterion, is created with geographical information systems (GIS) software. These are combined to give a Boolean map of areas which are appropriate for large-scale solar farm installation. Several scenarios are investigated by varying the criteria, which include geographical (land use) factors, solar energy resource and electrical distribution network constraints. Some are dictated by the physical and technical requirements of large-scale solar construction, and some by government or distribution network operator (DNO) policy. It is found that any suitability map which does not heed planning permission and grid constraints will overstate potential solar farm area by up to 97%. This research finds sufficient suitable land to meet Future Energy Scenarios (UK National Grid outlines for the coming energy landscape). Keywords: Solar farm planning; Site location; Photovoltaic; Suitability map; Solar installation policy; Geographical information systems (search for similar items in EconPapers) Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:renene:v:133:y:2019:i:c:p:1136-1146 DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2018.08.109 Access Statistics for this article Renewable Energy is currently edited by Soteris A. Kalogirou and Paul Christodoulides More articles in Renewable Energy from Elsevier |
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