Renewable energy expansion offers potential for land restoration

The expansion of renewable energy infrastructure, including solar panels, wind turbines, and transmission lines, presents both a challenge and an opportunity for land management and biodiversity protection. While current renewable projects occupy fewer than 500,000 hectares, this figure could reach three million hectares by 2032.

Successful integration requires strategic land use to ensure the energy transition contributes to ecological restoration rather than environmental degradation. International examples include solar projects in China's Tengger Desert that combine panels with vegetation to prevent sand movement, and the transformation of degraded mines in South Africa into solar parks.

Experts emphasize that environmental and social assessments must be conducted prior to investment. Proper planning is essential to protect ecosystems like grasslands, which support biodiversity and traditional pastoral communities, and to incorporate local knowledge regarding flood and drought risks.