Shifting Paradigm: Incorporating Landscape Preferences and Ecosystem Services into Siting Scenarios for Renewable Energies

Researchers from the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL, ETH Zürich and TU Wien have pioneered an innovative siting approach for renewable energy infrastructure in Switzerland. Leading author Boris Salak (WSL/TU Wien) and his colleagues Felix Kienast and Marcel Hunziker (WSL), Adrienne Grêt-Regamey and Ulrike Wissen Hayek (ETH Zürich), and Reto Spielhofer (ETH Zürich/NINA Trondheim), mark a departure from traditional methods that primarily consider technical and economic factors.

Innovating Renewable Energy Planning
The study focuses on integrating external costs related to ecosystem services and social preferences into renewable energy infrastructure siting. This methodology is particularly pertinent as Switzerland, like many countries, faces the challenge of transitioning to sustainable energy solutions while respecting the delicate balance of its rich natural landscapes and cultural heritage.

Optimization Strategy
Researchers utilized Marxan, an optimization software, to analyze different siting scenarios, aiming to minimize external costs while maximizing energy yield. The study set a target of 25 TWh/a of renewable energy, necessary due to the phasing out of Swiss nuclear reactors by 2050. Three main strategies were explored:

1. the energy facilities should be located where they can produce the most energy (priority: energy efficiency),
2. the facilities should be located where they cause the least loss of ecosystem services (priority: conservation of ecosystem services),
3. the facilities should be located where they are most likely to be accepted by the population (priority: public acceptance).

Insights and Implications
The study highlights the spatial consequences of changing priorities. For example, while the energy efficiency strategy was consequently spatially efficient, it incurred significant loss of ecosystem services and surprisingly, low social costs. On the other hand, prioritizing the conservation of ecosystem services, though ecologically sound, faced elevated social costs and was less spatially efficient. The socially prioritizing strategy emerged as a balanced approach, achieving spatial efficiency with the lowest social costs and lower loss of ecosystem services compared to the energy efficiency strategy.

It appears that the energy transition will primarily take place in the agricultural and settlement-dominated areas of the Central Plateau (from St. Gallen to Geneva), in the urbanized main Alpine valleys (e.g., the Rhône Valley), and in the Alpine landscapes characterized by tourist infrastructure (e.g., ski resorts). Although these locations are associated with high costs from both an ecological and a social perspective, the optimization model reveals, that they are so crucial for a successful energy transition that they cannot be adequately replaced.

This research suggests a paradigm shift in renewable energy infrastructure planning, emphasizing the importance of a balanced approach that includes not just technical solutions but also the ecological and the social dimensions of energy transition.

A Step Towards Inclusive and Just Energy Planning
The study shows that there are locations for energy facilities that are highly accepted by the population, are spatially efficient, and have minimal impact on the environment. However, this requires a paradigm shift in planning and greater involvement of the population in the decision-making process. It's not just about finding technical solutions, but also about understanding and integrating the social dimension of the energy transition. Only in this way can the goal of 25 terawatt-hours of renewable energy per year be achieved, which only is the first goal to be achieved as this merely addresses the shutdown of nuclear power plants. To replace fossil fuels with renewable energy sources in our energy system, Switzerland will likely need to produce three to four times the amount of renewable energy. It underscores the importance of including the population in these decisions, making the energy transition more socially acceptable and ecologically responsible. It is further important to adopt a cross-sectoral perspective, as these results serve to raise awareness among decision-makers so they can make informed decisions.

Read the full article here:
Shifting from techno-economic to socio-ecological priorities: incorporating landscape preferences and ecosystem services into the siting of renewable energy infrastructure.
Boris Salak, Marcel Hunziker, Adreienne Grêt-Regamey, Reto Spielhofer, Ulrike Wissen Hayek and Felix Kienast, 2024
PLOS ONE

DOI: external page https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0298430