Environmental impacts of large-scale solar power construction in Finland in accordance with the EU Solar Energy Strategy

Sammanfattning

This thesis examines the overall environmental impact of large-scale solar power construction in Finland. It takes a critical eye into the EU Solar Energy Strategy and its targets for solar power development in the coming years with a purpose to determine if and how the targets can be achieved without causing disproportionate damage to the environment in the process. Through three case studies of recently built large-scale solar photovoltaic installations, the research highlights significant variances in environmental impacts associated with different solar installation types. Case 1, a roof-mounted system, exhibited minimal adverse effects, primarily linked to the climate impact from component manufacturing. In contrast, Case 2, which was built beside an industrial plant, involving extensive forest clearing and heavy civil works, demonstrated the most detrimental impacts. Case 3 revealed that constructing solar PV on agricultural land with minimal civil works led to improved biodiversity, as the land was allowed to revert to natural grassland. The cases were chosen to represent the main different types of commercial, industrial and utility scale solar construction projects and to have as much variance between them as possible, to gain meaningful insight into the differences. The study is based on the standard Environmental Impact Assessment process by means of how the impact categories are chosen and the assessment is executed. The analysis is quantitative when it comes to determining carbon footprint by separately calculating all major emission sources in Annex 1, and qualitative regarding more abstract effects such as landscape impacts which are evaluated by observation. Data for the studies was gathered from project managers and engineers responsible for the construction of the three case study projects. The findings suggest that strategic site selection is crucial for minimizing environmental harm. The thesis advocates for the re-purposing of lower-value forest, peat production- and farmland for solar development and hybrid land use alongside wind power and agriculture. The study found that less than 5 % of the recognized re-purposable and hybrid land use areas would suffice to reach EU’s targets. It also identifies challenges related to site suitability, stakeholder interests, and the need for national standards in permitting processes. Ultimately, the thesis emphasizes the importance of integrating environmental considerations into solar power project planning to ensure development is truly sustainable.