{
  "abstract": "In cool-temperate and boreal regions, ground-mounted photovoltaic (PV) is rapidly emerging as a new land use, but planning-relevant evidence on land requirements, siting options, and land-system impacts remains limited. Based on an analysis of built and planned ground-mounted PV projects in Norway (n = 77), we quantify size, capacity density, land-cover composition and net greenhouse gas effects, and model land use requirements to 2050 under contrasting siting strategies. Current and proposed projects are largely concentrated in forest and woodlands (96.4% of mapped project area), with median capacity density and energy yield density clustering around ~80 MWp/km² and ~84 GWh/km²/year. For the assessed siting pattern, combined land-use-related and PV life-cycle emissions were approximately 5,000 t CO₂e per km² per year, annualised over 30 years. This estimate implies net emissions reductions if PV displaces electricity with the emission intensity of the EU-27 mix but increases relative to the current Norwegian mix. Achieving about 1, 4, or 21 GWp by 2050 would require approximately 15, 56, and 268 km² of land, respectively. Shifting development towards agricultural and heavily modified land slightly increases overall land demand by ca. 25 % under our scenario assumptions but can reduce expansion into (semi-)natural ecosystems, reduce greenhouse gas emissions from land cover changes, while offering opportunities for co-use and biodiversity mitigation. The results support a diverse siting strategy, with greater use of previously modified land and agricultural co-use, guided by site-specific assessment and monitoring of land-use and ecosystem impacts.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 6,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "Trond Simensen"
    },
    {
      "name": "Jonathan Rizzi"
    },
    {
      "name": "Anne Catriona Mehlhoop"
    },
    {
      "name": "Matthew Grainger"
    },
    {
      "name": "Erlend Hustad Honningdalsnes"
    },
    {
      "name": "Heine Nygard Riise"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/eq97p3ea7qha6.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.32942/x2wm4d",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "eq97p3ea7qha6",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://ecoevorxiv.org/repository/view/15472/",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "bepress",
      "Biodiversity"
    ],
    [
      "bepress",
      "Carbon storage"
    ],
    [
      "bepress",
      "Ecology and Evolutionary Biology"
    ],
    [
      "bepress",
      "Energy Policy"
    ],
    [
      "bepress",
      "Environmental Policy"
    ],
    [
      "bepress",
      "Land use change"
    ],
    [
      "bepress",
      "Life Sciences"
    ],
    [
      "bepress",
      "Norway"
    ],
    [
      "bepress",
      "Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration"
    ],
    [
      "bepress",
      "Solar power"
    ],
    [
      "bepress",
      "Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "2305|Photovoltaic Systems and Sustainability"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7221553508",
  "pdf_url": "https://ecoevorxiv.org/repository/object/15472/download/26824/",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-12",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/eq97p3ea7qha6.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:17:37Z",
      "native_id": "15472",
      "source": "ecoevorxiv",
      "url": "https://ecoevorxiv.org/repository/view/15472/"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "bepress:Ecology and Evolutionary Biology",
      "subfield": "ecology"
    },
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "bepress:Ecology and Evolutionary Biology",
      "subfield": "evolutionary-biology"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Potential impacts of Ground-mounted photovoltaic panels on land cover and carbon storage in Norway – a scenario analysis",
  "title_text": "Potential impacts of Ground-mounted photovoltaic panels on land cover and carbon storage in Norway – a scenario analysis",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:17:37Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/eq97p3ea7qha6",
  "venue": "EcoEvoRxiv",
  "versions": []
}