The work develops and applies a methodology for the evaluation of the external costs related to ecosystem services due to the construction and operation of non-programmable renewable energy plants. Through two case studies (solar photovoltaic and onshore wind) the methodology was applied to alternative plant configurations. The results obtained have profound implications for the energy planning needed to achieve the renewable energy targets of the Green Deal, as well as for the purpose of mitigating ecosystem impacts in the plant\u2019s design and management phases.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":93,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[1334,1328,1307,1359],"targets":[1317],"rapporti_tipologie":[762],"class_list":["post-194396","rapporti","type-rapporti","status-publish","hentry","tag-energy-planning","tag-photovoltaics","tag-renewable-energy-en","tag-wind","targets-research","rapporti_tipologie-report-en"],"acf":{"dont_show_hompage":true,"projects":{"ID":188408,"post_author":"93","post_date":"2024-06-13 15:10:18","post_date_gmt":"2024-06-13 13:10:18","post_content":"","post_title":"Integration of renewable energy into the land and environment","post_excerpt":"The goal of the project is to develop methodologies and analyses that, starting from the characterization of technologies and with an integrated approach, provide support for energy planning, taking into account technical, economic, environmental and regulatory aspects and possible hybridization and integration.","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"integration-of-renewable-energy-into-the-land-and-environment","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-07-12 11:06:31","post_modified_gmt":"2024-07-12 09:06:31","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/www.rse-web.it\/progetti\/energy-from-renewable-sources-and-integration-in-the-territory\/","menu_order":0,"post_type":"progetti","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},"order_posts":"","dont_show_search":false,"related_posts":false,"show_on_slider":false,"single_post_data":{"titolo_spot":"","post_content":"
This report adopts the approach of the ecosystem services monetary valuation to estimate the external costs of the construction and operation of renewable energy plants (solar photovoltaic and onshore wind). For this purpose, it develops an evaluation methodology that covers the external costs linked both to changes in land use at a local scale (11 ecosystem services categories) and to the visual intrusion and landscape depreciation generated by installations in a much broader area.<\/p>\n
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By using GIS tools, the methodology was applied to two case studies under authorization (a 62 MW wind farm with 10 turbines and a 56 MW ground-mounted photovoltaic system), located in two different rural contexts in central Italy. For each case study different plant configurations are simulated, to test the methodology’s ability to adapt to different situations.<\/p>\n
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The results obtained in all simulations highlight a non-negligible annual external cost related to ecosystem services, both for wind and solar plants. The specific external cost indicator (ratio between external costs and plant productivity) allows a comparison between different plant configurations for the same amount of energy produced.<\/p>\n
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In the case of onshore wind power, the configuration that optimizes this indicator is the one with higher and more powerful turbines (base case), compared to a second option with fewer turbines of the same power of the base case and a third option with the same number of turbines of the base case, but smaller and less powerful. For solar photovoltaic, the configuration that minimizes the external cost\/kWh ratio is the conventional \u201con land\u201d photovoltaic plant as compared to agrivoltaic options, since it minimizes the external costs of landscape services.<\/p>\n
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In the comparison between the two categories of renewable sources, the specific external costs range of the three wind power plant configurations [0.84 – 1.74 cents\/kWh] is partly greater than the range of photovoltaic variants [0.65 – 1.04 cents\/kWh]. The detailed results confirm the predominant role of landscape effects (“cultural” ecosystem services), since they are spread over a very large area, compared to local-scale effects linked to land use changes (which involve all ecosystem services).<\/p>\n
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The results of the work have profound implications for the energy planning needed to achieve the renewable energy targets of the Green Deal, as well as for the purpose of mitigating ecosystem impacts through an appropriate design during the authorization process and a proper management during the plant\u2019s operations.<\/p>\n
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The Report is available on the Italian site<\/strong><\/p>\n","link_estreno":false,"scarica_file":false,"button":{"text":"","link":""},"referente_group":false,"data_emissione":"2023-12-31","autori":"A. Molocchi, G. Mela, G. Ronchetti, I. Galbiati (RSE S.p.A.)","rapporto":"","rif_rse":"23013059"},"satellite_post_url":""},"yoast_head":"\n