Combining nature development with renewable energy; exploring the barriers and opportunities for ecological solar fields in Utrecht's Green Contour
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2020-06-22
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en
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This thesis explores the opportunities and barriers for ecological solar fields in Utrecht’s Green Contour. The spatial-physical aspects to ecological solar fields are described, resulting in requirements concerning the solar field’s location, design, technical considerations, management, and signs of a recovering ecology. The political-institutional level consisting of the Green Contour stakeholders is mapped out using the policy arrangement approach. In the end, six barriers are found: (1) three different governance modes are at play, (2) nature and agriculture organizations are sceptical about the sun-for-nature structure, (3) there is a lack of trust and a competitive relationship between nature and agriculture organizations, (4) there is a lack of funding for the GC’s development, (5) there are no governmental pre-set requirements for ecology on solar fields, and (6) finding space for (multifunctional) solar fields is difficult for the provincial government. The opportunities of ecological solar fields consist of (1) their positive contribution to (surrounding) nature, (2) their ability to act as a natural buffer or landscape adaptive element, (3) their potential to increase social support for solar fields, (4) their multifunctional character, and (5) the sun-for-nature structure could turn farmlands into nature while compensating the farmer and exploring a new revenue model.
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Faculteit der Managementwetenschappen