Demand for Land Remains Obstacle for Transition to Renewable Energy, Report Says

A non-financial consideration in Canada’s transition to renewable energy is the large amount of land needed compared to other energy sources, like natural gas, a new Fraser Institute report says. The report notes that while the cost of renewable sources has decreased, the challenge of land consumption—or how much space is needed for wind and solar power generation—remains an obstacle. “When measured in 2010, for example, renewable energies generated 525 GW of power, but consumed 398,000 square kilometers – a stark contrast with natural gas power production which generated 3.53 Terawatts of power while consuming only 1,800 square kilometers of land area,” wrote author Kenneth P. Green, a senior fellow with the Institute....