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The Untapped Area Potential for Photovoltaic Power in the European Union

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  • Arnulf Jäger-Waldau

    (European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC), 21027 Ispra, Italy)

Abstract

The political goal of the European Union is to transform into a prosperous, modern, competitive and climate-neutral economy by 2050. To accelerate this transition, the European Commission has presented a European Green Deal in 2019. The aim is to reduce up to 55% the greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. The paper looks at the role photovoltaic electricity generation can play to achieve this and whether the required areas for the installation of the photovoltaicaic power needed are available. Following a review of the existing literature, the paper concludes that better use of the technology that has been largely neglected so far coupled with dual-use options would generate much more PV capacity than required to achieve a neutral economy.

Suggested Citation

  • Arnulf Jäger-Waldau, 2020. "The Untapped Area Potential for Photovoltaic Power in the European Union," Clean Technol., MDPI, vol. 2(4), pages 1-7, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jcltec:v:2:y:2020:i:4:p:27-446:d:428897
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    2. Zhang, Yuhu & Ren, Jing & Pu, Yanru & Wang, Peng, 2020. "Solar energy potential assessment: A framework to integrate geographic, technological, and economic indices for a potential analysis," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 149(C), pages 577-586.
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    4. Gabriele Lobaccaro & Malgorzata Maria Lisowska & Erika Saretta & Pierluigi Bonomo & Francesco Frontini, 2019. "A Methodological Analysis Approach to Assess Solar Energy Potential at the Neighborhood Scale," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(18), pages 1-28, September.
    5. Katalin Bódis & Ioannis Kougias & Nigel Taylor & Arnulf Jäger-Waldau, 2019. "Solar Photovoltaic Electricity Generation: A Lifeline for the European Coal Regions in Transition," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(13), pages 1-14, July.
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