OPTIMISING THE LOCATION OF SOLAR PARKS FROM A SUSTAINABILITY PERSPECTIVE:

PROPOSAL OF A SPATIAL INDEX IN MAINLAND PORTUGAL

Abstract

One of the main challenges in the development of renewable energy centers is the location. This decision is intrinsically linked to the need of balancing resource availability with other uses. In the current context of energy transition, renewable energy production must increase significantly in order to decarbonize the electricity system. In Portugal, the objectives of the National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP) stipulate that the installed capacity of photovoltaic solar energy by 2022 must increase around eightfold until the end of the decade. Therefore, significant territorial transformations and landscape changes are expected, with an increasing demand for land that will generate territorial competition and impacts on ecosystems. The study presents a proposal to identify locations for the implementation of photovoltaic solar energy production infrastructures in line with sustainability principles and for a subsequent assessment of the proposed projects. The analysis was carried out in two phases: the first with a multi-criteria analysis (MCA) in geographic information systems (GIS), in which a spatial index was developed to classify the Portuguese mainland territory according to its suitability as a sustainable location for utility-scale solar photovoltaic plants; and the second, with an ex-ante monitoring perspective, which identified the location of planned projects (plants licensed and waiting licensing with power capacity ≥1 MW) in relation to the obtained index. The approach constitutes a prototype of a system for spatial decision-making support for the territorial challenges of renewable energy production. We conclude that the location of future solar power plants was chosen primarily based on a technical and economic basis without considering the impact of these infrastructures on other aspects of sustainable development