Quantitative study on land demand for onshore wind power development in China.

With the increasingly prominent issues of climate change and energy shortages, large-scale development of renewable and clean energy has become a common choice for countries around the world. Among them, onshore wind power plays an important role in the global energy transformation process due to its mature technology, safety, and efficiency advantages. However, because wind energy resources have the characteristics of low energy density, instability, and spatial dispersion, large-scale development of onshore wind power requires a large amount of land resources to support. To ensure the land resource demand for wind power development under the goal of 'carbon neutrality,' this paper conducted a quantitative study on the land occupation of onshore wind power in China. Firstly, based on the criterion of exclusivity, this paper reclassified the types of land occupation for wind farms from a spatio-temporal perspective. Secondly, based on the sample parameter method and the alpha shape algorithm, this paper calculated the land area of existing onshore wind farms in China categorically. Finally, considering the development trend of wind power technology, this paper systematically simulated and predicted the wind power land demand in different development scenarios under the 'carbon neutrality' goal. The results indicated that: (1) Based on the principle of exclusivity, the total land use area of wind farms could be divided into two parts in the spatial dimension: the direct impact area and the indirect impact area. The direct impact area could be divided into two parts in the temporal dimension: permanent land use and temporary land use. (2) In 2022, the land occupied by the wind turbine foundation, permanent land use, temporary land use, and direct impact area of China's onshore wind farms reached 48.28 km², 352.08 km², 1 234.86 km², and 1 638.81 km², respectively. (3) In 2022, the indirect impact area and total land use area of China's onshore wind farms reached 9.81x104 km ² and 9.99x104 km², respectively. The total land use area was almost equivalent to the total urban land use area of China. (4) Compared with the scenario of current technical level, under the scenario of technological progress and wind turbine upgradation, the various types of land use demand for wind power in China will have significantly decreased by 2060, and land use demand will have reached its peak by around 2050. The large-scale upgradation of wind turbines has great potential for saving land resources. Therefore, perfecting the land use standards of wind power construction, improving the land use efficiency of wind power development, and promoting the construction of offshore wind power are important paths for coordinating the sustainable use of wind energy resources and land resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]