Golf Courses Occupy More Land Than Solar and Wind Energy Plants Globally

A new study has revealed that the land area occupied by golf courses around the world is larger than that taken up by solar or wind energy plants.

The research paper titled "Countries across the world use more land for golf courses than wind or solar energy" was recently released in Environmental Research Communications. By using the OpenStreetMap database, the researchers identified 38,400 golf courses globally, with 80% of them situated in the 10 countries boasting the highest number of courses.

The United States leads the pack, having over 16,000 golf courses. It is trailed by the United Kingdom (about 3,100) and Japan (about 2,700). Completing the top 10 are Canada, Australia, Germany, South Korea, France, China, and Sweden.

The research team computed the renewable energy potential of the land occupied by golf courses. They discovered that in these 10 countries, between 281 GW and 842 GW of utility - scale solar power could be installed on 25% to 75% of the land area of golf courses.

According to the research paper, the 75% figure surpasses the current cumulative solar capacity of 646 GW installed in these 10 countries. In contrast, based on spacing requirements, between 174 GW and 659 GW of onshore wind power could be installed across the golf course areas in these 10 countries.

The researchers pointed out that golf courses usually demand large volumes of water and chemical treatments. In contrast, renewable energy installations present a sustainable alternative for land use. They stated that utility - scale solar farms need around 0.01 square km of land per megawatt, while wind farms require approximately 0.12 square km of land per megawatt.

The researchers indicated that their findings "emphasize the unexploited potential of reevaluating land use priorities to speed up the shift towards renewable energy."

Jann Weinand, the lead author of the study from the German research institute Forschungszentrum Jülich, stressed that the study is not promoting the direct conversion of golf courses. Instead, its goal is to spotlight the huge renewable energy potential in similarly large and underutilized areas.

Weinand further added, "Considering the ongoing discussions about land use for renewables, it is essential to think about how we allocate land in general, especially when a substantial amount of space is dedicated to activities that only benefit a small part of the population."