Regional economic and environmental impacts of renewable energy developments: Solar PV in the Aachen Region
Publication date
2019
Authors
Jenniches, S.
Worrell, E.
Editors
Advisors
Supervisors
Document Type
Article
Metadata
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License
taverne
Abstract
The energy transition is a challenge that affects regions on various scales. This paper presents the economic chances of deploying the renewable energy technology solar photovoltaic in a German region. Total regional economic effects of 280 PV plants, installed in 2014 with a cumulative capacity of 3.7 MW, lead to a regional value added of approximately €3.8 million (€1019/kW installed, €57/MWh electricity generated) and employment effects of 42 full-time person years (11 person years/MW installed), occurring from 2014 to 2034. The avoided greenhouse gas emissions of these plants are 2365 tons CO2 equivalents per year (0.7 kgCO2-eq/kWh generated) and the avoided air pollution is 0.97 tSO2 per year, 1.48 tNOx per year, and 0.07 t NMVOCs per year in 2014. The total economic effects of regional value added, avoided CO2 emissions, and avoided air pollution per year in 2014 range from €0.8 million - €1 million or (€208–€277 per kW installed, €231–€307 per MWh electricity generated).
Keywords
Air pollutants, Economic impact assessment, Greenhouse gas emissions, Regional economic impact assessment, Renewable energies, Solar PV, Taverne, Geography, Planning and Development, Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment, Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law, SDG 7 - Affordable and Clean Energy
Citation
Jenniches, S & Worrell, E 2019, 'Regional economic and environmental impacts of renewable energy developments : Solar PV in the Aachen Region', Energy for Sustainable Development, vol. 48, pp. 11-24. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esd.2018.10.004