Jan. 18 (Bloomberg) — Efforts to boost production of renewable
energy in Germany means the amount of land used to generate power
and heat from corn, solar panels and wind turbines will more than
double by 2020.
Almost 4 million hectares will be needed for growing biofuel
crops and operating windmills and solar parks within 10 years,
according to data provided by Germany’s renewable energy agency.
That compares with 1.77 million hectares used for renewable
energy now in a country of 35.7 million hectares.
Germany may be able to generate about half of its electricity
using renewable sources at the end of the decade, the industry
estimates. Most of the land will be used to grow crops such as
corn, sugar beets and rapeseed for products including biodiesel,
ethanol and biogas that are used in transportation fuels and
electric production, the agency said.
“Critical for all this to work is to make sure that bioenergy is
integrated into the overall energy system,” said Daniela Thraen,
director of the German Biomass Research Center in Leipzig.
Fuels from distilling and converting plant material should be
integrated into existing infrastructure such as natural gas
pipelines, Thraen said. Bioenergy has the potential to provide as
much as 15 percent of the country’s energy needs, she added.
Much of the terrain used for the expected increase in renewable
energy will be under-utilized agricultural, military or
industrial land, the lobby group said.
Rising demand for fuels made from corn and other crops may
contribute to increases of as much as 72 percent in food prices
by 2020, the Washington-based International Food Policy Research
Institute has estimated.
