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The potential land requirements and related land use change ... nature.com 6 facts
claimOnly a limited portion of the land requirements and related land use change (LUC) emissions driven by bioenergy expansion are projected to occur within the EU, India, Japan, and South-Korea due to the tradeability of bioenergy.
claimThe displacement of commercial land by solar energy infrastructure in the EU, India, Japan, and South-Korea is expected to incentivize the use of currently unused arable land in other regions and boost the commercialization of unmanaged land, indirectly leading to the loss of natural land cover.
measurementBy 2050, if at least half of the produced electricity comes from solar power, land used for solar energy infrastructure will amount to over 50% of current urban land in the EU, over 85% in India, and over 75% in Japan and South-Korea.
measurementIf all previous vegetation is permanently cleared for solar energy projects, the total direct and indirect land use change (LUC) emissions from 2020 to 2050 correspond to 5 to 16% of emissions from natural gas combustion for power generation in developed regions like the EU, Japan, and South-Korea, and about 2.5–3.5% in India.
claimSolar energy expansion in the EU, India, Japan, and South-Korea is projected to predominantly replace or avoid future conversion of land used for commercial purposes, such as cropland or commercial forest, rather than significantly affecting unmanaged land.
measurementUtility-Scale Solar Energy (USSE) land occupation is projected to range from 0.5% to 2.8% of total territory in the EU, 0.3% to 1.4% in India, and 1.2% to 5.2% in Japan and South-Korea, assuming solar energy accounts for 25% to 80% of the electricity mix.