High-Resolution Siting of Utility-Scale Solar and Wind: Bridging Pixel-Level Costs and Regional Planning

Cheng Cheng (), Andrew Blakers, Timothy Weber, Kylie Catchpole and Anna Nadolny
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Cheng Cheng: School of Engineering, College of Systems and Society, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia
Andrew Blakers: School of Engineering, College of Systems and Society, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia
Timothy Weber: School of Engineering, College of Systems and Society, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia
Kylie Catchpole: School of Engineering, College of Systems and Society, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia
Anna Nadolny: School of Engineering, College of Systems and Society, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia

Energies, 2025, vol. 18, issue 16, 1-28

Abstract: Achieving net zero relies on siting large-scale solar and wind where they are cheapest and most socially acceptable. We present a transferable, evidence-based siting framework and apply it to Australia. The landscape is divided into millions of 250 m pixels, each assigned an indicative cost based on resource quality, distance-weighted connection costs, and land use exclusions. Two bounding generation mix scenarios (high solar vs. high wind) stack the cheapest pixels until a fully electrified demand of 20 MWh per capita per year is met. Results are aggregated to all 547 Local Government Areas (LGAs) and 150 federal electorates and expressed as capital inflow, construction job-years, long-term jobs, and land-lease income. We find Class A solar (<50 AUD/MWh) is abundant nationwide except in Tasmania, while high-quality wind is concentrated in Victoria, Tasmania, and coastal Western Australia. Just 15% of LGAs, mainly within 100 km of the existing 275–500 kV transmission backbone, can host over half of least-cost capacity. A single top-ranked LGA such as Toowoomba (Queensland) could attract around AUD 33 billion in investment and sustain over 50,000 construction job-years. Mapping ten candidate high-voltage transmission corridors shows how new lines shift opportunities to under-served councils. The results bridge the gap between state-level renewable energy zones and fine-scale site suitability maps, with policy recommendations proposed. Because the workflow relies mainly on globally available datasets, it can be replicated in other countries to raise public awareness, align policy with community support, and accelerate clean-energy buildouts while maximising regional benefit.

Keywords: solar photovoltaic generation; wind power generation; spatial planning; local government areas; federal electorates; cost-based siting (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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