Strategic Analysis of Land Use for Solar Energy Development in the State of New York

60 pagesThis study investigates the spatial characteristics of existing utility-scale solar energy (USSE) development in the New York State (NYS) and assesses the land-suitability for the future development of USSE needed to achieve the State’s renewable energy goals using GIS-MCDA techniques. Slope, proximity to electric substations, protected lands, and soil quality were used as criteria to develop land suitability scenarios. 40% of present USSE capacity has been developed on agricultural lands and 84% of identified land suitable for development (~140 GW potential) is agricultural. The USSE potential on non-agricultural land is 22.5 GW -- just sufficient to accommodate the development of 21.6 GW USSE, which is the estimated USSE capacity required for NYS’s 2030 goal. Thus, agricultural lands will continue to be the prime target for future USSE development. Exploring the state-specific synergies for solar-agriculture co-location, preventing the spatially-concentrated development of USSE, and incentivizing the use of unproductive agricultural lands will help mitigate negative impacts of USSE development on agricultural lands