Energy transition changing land use - estimating large-scale PV and Power-to-X potential of present peat production areas

Abstract

Due to EU Climate policies the use of peat as an energy source is winding down. In Finland alone there was approximately 900 km2 of active peat production area in 2021 and it has been proposed that these large and otherwise now unused areas, with often existing electricity distribution infrastructure, could be suitable for housing large scale solar photovoltaic (PV) installations. In this paper a geo-spatial analysis of the solar PV potential of the peat production areas in Finland with relation to existing power delivery infrastructure is studied by using openly available data. The Power-to-X potential of the PV generation is also estimated in relation to P2X related infrastructure. The main results of this study show that the peat production areas have significant potential for PV energy generation and they are largely located nearby power grid infrastructure. However if a large portion of the potential was utilized capacity problems in existing networks would likely occur. This could be alleviated with P2X. It was shown that peat production areas are also located close to P2X transport and end use infrastructure. P2X could be used for the needs of the transportation sector, heavy industries or transferred via existing gas pipelines.