Comparison of the area energy yields of different renewable energies - for electricity, heat and transport

Agricultural land is scarce. In the current debate on the transformation of the energy system in Germany, the question therefore arises as to how much renewable energy can be generated on agricultural land. This study compares the area energy yields of different types of biogenic renewable energy with different technical variants of photovoltaics, namely ground-mounted PV systems (PV-FFA) and agrivoltaic systems, as well as wind turbines (WEA). The energetic use as electricity, heat and for mobility is examined. The results show that photovoltaics and wind can generate many times more energy per hectare of agricultural land than biogenic renewable energies. This does not change when the by-products and electricity storage are considered. For example, the electricity yield per hectare is on average 28 times higher with PV-FFA than with biogas. In the heat sector, an average of 54 times more heat can be generated per hectare with PV-FFA than with woodchip production from short -rotation plantations. With the use of rapeseed for biodiesel, including crediting of the co-products, it is possible to drive 57 thousand kilometres per year with a medium-sized car. With the electricity from a PV-FFA, on the other hand, it is 3.9 million kilometres per hectare and year. In terms of the loss of agricultural land for food production, wind turbines are once again significantly more land-efficient than PV-FFAs. If the aforementioned biogenic renewable energies are replaced by PV-FFA or wind turbines in the future, the loss of agricultural land for food production can be significantly reduced. With a view to efficient land use, a change in political control in favour of PV-FFA and especially wind turbines can be recommended.