What are the land-use requirements for large PV installations?

Total-area requirements for large PV installations as a function of PV plant size Figure D-3. Capacity-based direct-area land-use requirements for all PV systems as a function of module efficiency 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 Total Land Use (Acres/MW) Capacity (MW-DC) Large PVFixed 1 Axis CPV

Are photovoltaic plants affecting land use?

The rapid deployment of large numbers of utility-scale photovoltaic (PV) plants in the United States, combined with heightened expectations of future deployment, has raised concerns about land requirements and associated land-use impacts.

How much land does a PV system need?

According to Bolinger and Bolinger (2022), the most efficient PV systems (i.e., singleaxis trackers or panels that tilt as sunlight moves) are estimated to produce 0.18 MW of energy per acre of land. Thus, 5.56 acres of land are required for each MW of PV production.

Are utility-scale photovoltaic plants affecting land-use impacts?

Abstract—The rapid deployment of large numbers of utility-scale photovoltaic (PV) plants in the United States, combined with heightened expectations of future deployment, has raised concerns about land requirements and associated land-use impacts.

Do utility-scale ground-mounted solar plants use land?

Subject This report covers data and analysis of the land use associated with utility-scale ground-mounted solar facilities, defined as installations greater than 1 MW. We begin by discussing standard land-use metrics as established in the life-cycle assessment literature and then discuss their applicability to solar power plants.

Does PV system size affect land-use requirements?

Relatively large deviations between the median and weighted average values are due to a few very large PV installations (over 100 MW) contributing heavily to weighted average results. We found that PV system size appears to have no significant impact on land-use requirements per unit of capacity (see Appendix D).