Spatial Distribution of Wind Turbines, Photovoltaic Field Systems, Bioenergy, and River Hydro Power Plants in Germany

Eichhorn, Marcus; Scheftelowitz, Mattes; Reichmuth, Matthias; Lorenz, Christian; Louca, Kyriakos; Schiffler, Alexander; Keuneke, Rita; Bauschmann, Martin; Ponitka, Jens; Manske, David; Thrän, Daniela

doi:10.3390/data4010029

Cited by 22 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…Despite the evident utility of location data, spatially explicit national data are only publicly available for a handful of countries [20][21][22][23] . Furthermore, often when they are available they are not open access.…”

Section: Background and Summarymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Using this technique, we can assign more descriptive metadata from national databases to the spatial information gleaned from the processed OSM data. For wind, these validation datasets were the USWTD, the United Kingdom Renewable Energy Planning Database (UK REPD), and data from a German renewable energy study [20][21][22][23] . Solar also utilised the German and UK data (these databases provide more than one type of renewable energy), swapping in data from Wiki Solar 26 in place of the USWTD.…”

Section: Estimating Power Output Of Installations the Vast Majority mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Harmonised global datasets of wind and solar farm locations and power

et al. 2020

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Energy systems need decarbonisation in order to limit global warming to within safe limits. While global land planners are promising more of the planet's limited space to wind and solar photovoltaic, there is little information on where current infrastructure is located. the majority of recent studies use land suitability for wind and solar, coupled with technical and socioeconomic constraints, as a proxy for actual location data. Here, we address this shortcoming. Using readily accessible OpenStreetMap data we present, to our knowledge, the first global, open-access, harmonised spatial datasets of wind and solar installations. We also include user friendly code to enable users to easily create newer versions of the dataset. Finally, we include first order estimates of power capacities of installations. We anticipate these data will be of widespread interest within global studies of the future potential and trade-offs associated with the global decarbonisation of energy systems.

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Section: Background and Summarymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Estimating Power Output Of Installations the Vast Majority mentioning

confidence: 99%

Harmonised global datasets of wind and solar farm locations and power

et al. 2020

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“…Ideally, nationwide data for RE installations and the relevant protected goods will be made available. As a starting point for minimizing negative impacts, a GIS compilation of RE plants in Germany is already available [46]. In our view, transdisciplinary approaches (ecology, technology, social sciences) are necessary to adequately address the complex impacts on nature and landscape.…”

Section: Specific Fields Of Interest-ongoing Research and Research Dementioning

confidence: 99%

“…First, it is important to monitor the target achievement of a nature-compatible energy transition, for example the achievement of energy consumption reduction (as it was formulated by [63]). A second monitoring aspect derived from the research project [62] is the spatial distribution of RE plants [46] and power lines [16] with respect to, for example, nature conservation areas or sensitive forests. The third monitoring field is direct effects on legally protected goods like animals or populations.…”

Section: Monitoringmentioning

confidence: 99%

Challenges of future energy landscapes in Germany — a nature conservation perspective

Ponitka

Boettner

2020

Energ Sustain Soc

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Background: The energy transition in Germany is characterized by a rapid growth of renewable energy and infrastructure. In order to reduce the impact of humans on the climate system, a more ambitious development of renewable energies is needed. In addition, nature and natural resources must be protected. At the same time, the increasing use of renewable energies leads to impacts on nature conservation aspects, in particular on landscapes, species, and habitats. Therefore, renewable energy systems also affect the protection of biodiversity. Conflicting objectives between the need for renewable energies and their impact on nature and landscape have to be considered equally and as early as possible. Methods: The article follows an interdisciplinary approach that combines an administrative with a research perspective. First, the energy transition as a national transformation process and challenges due to the expansion of renewable energies with regard to nature conservation and landscape management are presented. The analysis of existing literature identifies key factors for a sustainable energy transition such as land availability, landscapes, and impacts on species and habitats. Examining the most affected nature conservation aspects from an administrative perspective, we highlight selected research projects, derive future research demand, and discuss possible approaches to enhance the integration of nature conservation into the energy transition. Results: In addition to the need for climate protection efforts, the energy transition further has to preserve biological diversity, as well as characteristic features and the beauty of nature and landscape. Numerous energy transition stakeholders face the challenge of integrating nature conservation and landscape management requirements into research projects, strategic planning, and approval procedures. Based on the dynamic development of renewable energies in Germany and the objectives of nature conservation, we describe key challenges and identify future research demands from an administrative and scientific point of view. Current research projects, the impacts of renewable energy generation, and existing approaches to minimize negative effects on nature and landscape are taken into account. Conclusions: We conclude that nature conservation aspects in general (biodiversity and landscape) have to be better integrated in the energy transition. Therefore, research, technology development and preference, civil participation, a critical discussion, and academic debate are essential elements for a nature-compatible expansion of renewable energies.

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“…Regional climate studies are required to assess the potential of wind power in any region due to its high spatial and temporal variability. Having said that, studying the sustainability, spatio-temporal distribution, and economic justification of wind power is necessary before constructing wind farms in any region (Eichhorn et al, 2019). On the other hand, climate change and global warming are going to affect different atmospheric and oceanic processes, which should be taken into account prior to developing wind farms (Schaeffer et al, 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluating the potential of offshore wind energy in the Gulf of Oman using the MENA-CORDEX wind speed data simulations

Band

Bateni

Almazroui

et al. 2021

Engineering Applications of Computational Fluid Mechanics

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The MENA-CORDEX (the Middle East and North Africa-COordinated Regional Downscaling Experiment) wind speed data at the height of 10 m is converted to the turbine hub-height for estimating the mean wind power in the Gulf of Oman. The results show high spatial variability of the historical and future mean wind power projection. Furthermore, the impact of climate change on the mean wind power (under the representative concentration pathway 8.5, RCP8.5, scenario) is found to be less than 5%, which indicates the sustainability of wind renewable energy. Based on the wind power distribution, bathymetry, and distance from the coast, five sites are selected in the Gulf of Oman as tentative energy hotspots to provide a detailed assessment of the directional variability of wind power for the historical and future periods. Significant variability of the directional distribution of wind power is found in the five study sites, which make it imperative to optimally design wind turbines and farms to achieve the best efficiency. The findings also indicate that the main direction and magnitude of wind power in the five sites under the RCP8.5 climate change scenario will remain almost the same as those of the historical period. Overall, the sustainability of power production under climate change impacts is promising to plan for wind energy extraction in the Gulf of Oman.

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Spatial Distribution of Wind Turbines, Photovoltaic Field Systems, Bioenergy, and River Hydro Power Plants in Germany

Cited by 22 publications

References 23 publications

Harmonised global datasets of wind and solar farm locations and power

Harmonised global datasets of wind and solar farm locations and power

Challenges of future energy landscapes in Germany — a nature conservation perspective

Evaluating the potential of offshore wind energy in the Gulf of Oman using the MENA-CORDEX wind speed data simulations

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