Data
Land used per unit of electricity, by way of making it (Lovering et al. 2022)
Hectares of land occupied for each terawatt-hour of electricity generated in a year, for eleven ways of making electricity, from Table 1 of Lovering et al. (2022): the median, the interquartile range and the mean across the sites and studies observed. Coal, natural gas, nuclear and dedicated biomass include the land used to mine, drill or grow their fuel. Wind and natural gas are given two ways: the land physically occupied, and the whole area inside the site's boundary. Rooftop solar is zero by the study's assumption.
Latest value
7.1ha/TWh/yr
Sites studied: nuclear, wind and ground-mounted solar in the United States, coal in the United States and Canada, dams in 80 countries, other sources from published studies worldwide, 2022. Version PLOS ONE 17(7): e0270155 (2022).
As published
“Nuclear had the lowest median LUIE at 7.1 ha/TWh/y, and dedicated biomass the highest at 58,000 ha/TWh/y.”
Land-use intensity of electricity (Lovering et al. 2022), Section 3 (Results), p. 7. Checked word for word against the stored copy of the document every time the data is rebuilt.
Every value
| Way of making electricity | Land counted | Statistic | Period | Value (ha/TWh/yr) | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nuclear (plant and uranium fuel cycle)Table 1, p. 8, row "Nuclear": n = 59 observations; Tukey group A. | The paper's one definition for this sourceTable 1, p. 8, row "Nuclear": n = 59 observations; Tukey group A. | Median across the observationsTable 1, p. 8, row "Nuclear": n = 59 observations; Tukey group A. | 2022 | 7.1 | final |
| Nuclear (plant and uranium fuel cycle)Table 1, p. 8, row "Nuclear": n = 59 observations; Tukey group A. | The paper's one definition for this sourceTable 1, p. 8, row "Nuclear": n = 59 observations; Tukey group A. | Interquartile range across the observations (the 75th minus the 25th percentile: a width, not two bounds)Table 1, p. 8, row "Nuclear": n = 59 observations; Tukey group A. | 2022 | 4.8 | final |
| Nuclear (plant and uranium fuel cycle)Table 1, p. 8, row "Nuclear": n = 59 observations; Tukey group A. | The paper's one definition for this sourceTable 1, p. 8, row "Nuclear": n = 59 observations; Tukey group A. | Mean across the observationsTable 1, p. 8, row "Nuclear": n = 59 observations; Tukey group A. | 2022 | 15.0 | final |
| GeothermalTable 1, p. 8, row "Geothermal": n = 26 observations; Tukey group B. | The paper's one definition for this sourceTable 1, p. 8, row "Geothermal": n = 26 observations; Tukey group B. | Median across the observationsTable 1, p. 8, row "Geothermal": n = 26 observations; Tukey group B. | 2022 | 45.0 | final |
| GeothermalTable 1, p. 8, row "Geothermal": n = 26 observations; Tukey group B. | The paper's one definition for this sourceTable 1, p. 8, row "Geothermal": n = 26 observations; Tukey group B. | Interquartile range across the observations (the 75th minus the 25th percentile: a width, not two bounds)Table 1, p. 8, row "Geothermal": n = 26 observations; Tukey group B. | 2022 | 150.0 | final |
| GeothermalTable 1, p. 8, row "Geothermal": n = 26 observations; Tukey group B. | The paper's one definition for this sourceTable 1, p. 8, row "Geothermal": n = 26 observations; Tukey group B. | Mean across the observationsTable 1, p. 8, row "Geothermal": n = 26 observations; Tukey group B. | 2022 | 140.0 | final |
| WindTable 1, p. 8, row "Wind (footprint)": n = 57 observations; Tukey group C. | Footprint: land physically occupied by turbine pads, well pads, roads and pipelinesTable 1, p. 8, row "Wind (footprint)": n = 57 observations; Tukey group C. | Median across the observationsTable 1, p. 8, row "Wind (footprint)": n = 57 observations; Tukey group C. | 2022 | 130.0 | final |
| WindTable 1, p. 8, row "Wind (footprint)": n = 57 observations; Tukey group C. | Footprint: land physically occupied by turbine pads, well pads, roads and pipelinesTable 1, p. 8, row "Wind (footprint)": n = 57 observations; Tukey group C. | Interquartile range across the observations (the 75th minus the 25th percentile: a width, not two bounds)Table 1, p. 8, row "Wind (footprint)": n = 57 observations; Tukey group C. | 2022 | 120.0 | final |
| WindTable 1, p. 8, row "Wind (footprint)": n = 57 observations; Tukey group C. | Footprint: land physically occupied by turbine pads, well pads, roads and pipelinesTable 1, p. 8, row "Wind (footprint)": n = 57 observations; Tukey group C. | Mean across the observationsTable 1, p. 8, row "Wind (footprint)": n = 57 observations; Tukey group C. | 2022 | 170.0 | final |
| Residue biomassTable 1, p. 8, row "Residue biomass": n = 4 observations; Tukey group C D. | The paper's one definition for this sourceTable 1, p. 8, row "Residue biomass": n = 4 observations; Tukey group C D. | Median across the observationsTable 1, p. 8, row "Residue biomass": n = 4 observations; Tukey group C D. | 2022 | 130.0 | final |
| Residue biomassTable 1, p. 8, row "Residue biomass": n = 4 observations; Tukey group C D. | The paper's one definition for this sourceTable 1, p. 8, row "Residue biomass": n = 4 observations; Tukey group C D. | Interquartile range across the observations (the 75th minus the 25th percentile: a width, not two bounds)Table 1, p. 8, row "Residue biomass": n = 4 observations; Tukey group C D. | 2022 | 71.0 | final |
| Residue biomassTable 1, p. 8, row "Residue biomass": n = 4 observations; Tukey group C D. | The paper's one definition for this sourceTable 1, p. 8, row "Residue biomass": n = 4 observations; Tukey group C D. | Mean across the observationsTable 1, p. 8, row "Residue biomass": n = 4 observations; Tukey group C D. | 2022 | 150.0 | final |
| Natural gas (plant and gas fields)Table 1, p. 8, row "Natural gas (footprint)": n = 17 observations; Tukey group C D. | Footprint: land physically occupied by turbine pads, well pads, roads and pipelinesTable 1, p. 8, row "Natural gas (footprint)": n = 17 observations; Tukey group C D. | Median across the observationsTable 1, p. 8, row "Natural gas (footprint)": n = 17 observations; Tukey group C D. | 2022 | 410.0 | final |
| Natural gas (plant and gas fields)Table 1, p. 8, row "Natural gas (footprint)": n = 17 observations; Tukey group C D. | Footprint: land physically occupied by turbine pads, well pads, roads and pipelinesTable 1, p. 8, row "Natural gas (footprint)": n = 17 observations; Tukey group C D. | Interquartile range across the observations (the 75th minus the 25th percentile: a width, not two bounds)Table 1, p. 8, row "Natural gas (footprint)": n = 17 observations; Tukey group C D. | 2022 | 210.0 | final |
| Natural gas (plant and gas fields)Table 1, p. 8, row "Natural gas (footprint)": n = 17 observations; Tukey group C D. | Footprint: land physically occupied by turbine pads, well pads, roads and pipelinesTable 1, p. 8, row "Natural gas (footprint)": n = 17 observations; Tukey group C D. | Mean across the observationsTable 1, p. 8, row "Natural gas (footprint)": n = 17 observations; Tukey group C D. | 2022 | 410.0 | final |
| Hydroelectric (single-purpose dams)Table 1, p. 8, row "Hydroelectric (single purpose dams)": n = 952 observations; left out of the ANOVA for its large variance. | The paper's one definition for this sourceTable 1, p. 8, row "Hydroelectric (single purpose dams)": n = 952 observations; left out of the ANOVA for its large variance. | Median across the observationsTable 1, p. 8, row "Hydroelectric (single purpose dams)": n = 952 observations; left out of the ANOVA for its large variance. | 2022 | 650.0 | final |
| Hydroelectric (single-purpose dams)Table 1, p. 8, row "Hydroelectric (single purpose dams)": n = 952 observations; left out of the ANOVA for its large variance. | The paper's one definition for this sourceTable 1, p. 8, row "Hydroelectric (single purpose dams)": n = 952 observations; left out of the ANOVA for its large variance. | Interquartile range across the observations (the 75th minus the 25th percentile: a width, not two bounds)Table 1, p. 8, row "Hydroelectric (single purpose dams)": n = 952 observations; left out of the ANOVA for its large variance. | 2022 | 2,300.0 | final |
| Hydroelectric (single-purpose dams)Table 1, p. 8, row "Hydroelectric (single purpose dams)": n = 952 observations; left out of the ANOVA for its large variance. | The paper's one definition for this sourceTable 1, p. 8, row "Hydroelectric (single purpose dams)": n = 952 observations; left out of the ANOVA for its large variance. | Mean across the observationsTable 1, p. 8, row "Hydroelectric (single purpose dams)": n = 952 observations; left out of the ANOVA for its large variance. | 2022 | 15,000.0 | final |
| Coal (plant and mining)Table 1, p. 8, row "Coal": n = 30 observations; Tukey group D. | The paper's one definition for this sourceTable 1, p. 8, row "Coal": n = 30 observations; Tukey group D. | Median across the observationsTable 1, p. 8, row "Coal": n = 30 observations; Tukey group D. | 2022 | 1,000.0 | final |
| Coal (plant and mining)Table 1, p. 8, row "Coal": n = 30 observations; Tukey group D. | The paper's one definition for this sourceTable 1, p. 8, row "Coal": n = 30 observations; Tukey group D. | Interquartile range across the observations (the 75th minus the 25th percentile: a width, not two bounds)Table 1, p. 8, row "Coal": n = 30 observations; Tukey group D. | 2022 | 1,200.0 | final |
| Coal (plant and mining)Table 1, p. 8, row "Coal": n = 30 observations; Tukey group D. | The paper's one definition for this sourceTable 1, p. 8, row "Coal": n = 30 observations; Tukey group D. | Mean across the observationsTable 1, p. 8, row "Coal": n = 30 observations; Tukey group D. | 2022 | 1,100.0 | final |
| Concentrating solar powerTable 1, p. 8, row "Solar CSP": n = 101 observations; Tukey group D E. | The paper's one definition for this sourceTable 1, p. 8, row "Solar CSP": n = 101 observations; Tukey group D E. | Median across the observationsTable 1, p. 8, row "Solar CSP": n = 101 observations; Tukey group D E. | 2022 | 1,300.0 | final |
| Concentrating solar powerTable 1, p. 8, row "Solar CSP": n = 101 observations; Tukey group D E. | The paper's one definition for this sourceTable 1, p. 8, row "Solar CSP": n = 101 observations; Tukey group D E. | Interquartile range across the observations (the 75th minus the 25th percentile: a width, not two bounds)Table 1, p. 8, row "Solar CSP": n = 101 observations; Tukey group D E. | 2022 | 650.0 | final |
| Concentrating solar powerTable 1, p. 8, row "Solar CSP": n = 101 observations; Tukey group D E. | The paper's one definition for this sourceTable 1, p. 8, row "Solar CSP": n = 101 observations; Tukey group D E. | Mean across the observationsTable 1, p. 8, row "Solar CSP": n = 101 observations; Tukey group D E. | 2022 | 2,000.0 | final |
| Natural gas (plant and gas fields)Table 1, p. 8, row "Natural gas (spacing)": n = 4 observations; Tukey group D E. | Spacing: the whole area inside the wind farm or gas field boundaryTable 1, p. 8, row "Natural gas (spacing)": n = 4 observations; Tukey group D E. | Median across the observationsTable 1, p. 8, row "Natural gas (spacing)": n = 4 observations; Tukey group D E. | 2022 | 1,900.0 | final |
| Natural gas (plant and gas fields)Table 1, p. 8, row "Natural gas (spacing)": n = 4 observations; Tukey group D E. | Spacing: the whole area inside the wind farm or gas field boundaryTable 1, p. 8, row "Natural gas (spacing)": n = 4 observations; Tukey group D E. | Interquartile range across the observations (the 75th minus the 25th percentile: a width, not two bounds)Table 1, p. 8, row "Natural gas (spacing)": n = 4 observations; Tukey group D E. | 2022 | 2,800.0 | final |
| Natural gas (plant and gas fields)Table 1, p. 8, row "Natural gas (spacing)": n = 4 observations; Tukey group D E. | Spacing: the whole area inside the wind farm or gas field boundaryTable 1, p. 8, row "Natural gas (spacing)": n = 4 observations; Tukey group D E. | Mean across the observationsTable 1, p. 8, row "Natural gas (spacing)": n = 4 observations; Tukey group D E. | 2022 | 1,900.0 | final |
| Ground-mounted solar panelsTable 1, p. 8, row "Ground-mounted PV": n = 94 observations; Tukey group E. | The paper's one definition for this sourceTable 1, p. 8, row "Ground-mounted PV": n = 94 observations; Tukey group E. | Median across the observationsTable 1, p. 8, row "Ground-mounted PV": n = 94 observations; Tukey group E. | 2022 | 2,000.0 | final |
| Ground-mounted solar panelsTable 1, p. 8, row "Ground-mounted PV": n = 94 observations; Tukey group E. | The paper's one definition for this sourceTable 1, p. 8, row "Ground-mounted PV": n = 94 observations; Tukey group E. | Interquartile range across the observations (the 75th minus the 25th percentile: a width, not two bounds)Table 1, p. 8, row "Ground-mounted PV": n = 94 observations; Tukey group E. | 2022 | 860.0 | final |
| Ground-mounted solar panelsTable 1, p. 8, row "Ground-mounted PV": n = 94 observations; Tukey group E. | The paper's one definition for this sourceTable 1, p. 8, row "Ground-mounted PV": n = 94 observations; Tukey group E. | Mean across the observationsTable 1, p. 8, row "Ground-mounted PV": n = 94 observations; Tukey group E. | 2022 | 2,100.0 | final |
| WindTable 1, p. 8, row "Wind (spacing)": n = 57 observations; Tukey group F. | Spacing: the whole area inside the wind farm or gas field boundaryTable 1, p. 8, row "Wind (spacing)": n = 57 observations; Tukey group F. | Median across the observationsTable 1, p. 8, row "Wind (spacing)": n = 57 observations; Tukey group F. | 2022 | 12,000.0 | final |
| WindTable 1, p. 8, row "Wind (spacing)": n = 57 observations; Tukey group F. | Spacing: the whole area inside the wind farm or gas field boundaryTable 1, p. 8, row "Wind (spacing)": n = 57 observations; Tukey group F. | Interquartile range across the observations (the 75th minus the 25th percentile: a width, not two bounds)Table 1, p. 8, row "Wind (spacing)": n = 57 observations; Tukey group F. | 2022 | 12,000.0 | final |
| WindTable 1, p. 8, row "Wind (spacing)": n = 57 observations; Tukey group F. | Spacing: the whole area inside the wind farm or gas field boundaryTable 1, p. 8, row "Wind (spacing)": n = 57 observations; Tukey group F. | Mean across the observationsTable 1, p. 8, row "Wind (spacing)": n = 57 observations; Tukey group F. | 2022 | 15,000.0 | final |
| Dedicated biomass (energy crops)Table 1, p. 8, row "Dedicated biomass": n = 14 observations; Tukey group G. | The paper's one definition for this sourceTable 1, p. 8, row "Dedicated biomass": n = 14 observations; Tukey group G. | Median across the observationsTable 1, p. 8, row "Dedicated biomass": n = 14 observations; Tukey group G. | 2022 | 58,000.0 | final |
| Dedicated biomass (energy crops)Table 1, p. 8, row "Dedicated biomass": n = 14 observations; Tukey group G. | The paper's one definition for this sourceTable 1, p. 8, row "Dedicated biomass": n = 14 observations; Tukey group G. | Interquartile range across the observations (the 75th minus the 25th percentile: a width, not two bounds)Table 1, p. 8, row "Dedicated biomass": n = 14 observations; Tukey group G. | 2022 | 59,000.0 | final |
| Dedicated biomass (energy crops)Table 1, p. 8, row "Dedicated biomass": n = 14 observations; Tukey group G. | The paper's one definition for this sourceTable 1, p. 8, row "Dedicated biomass": n = 14 observations; Tukey group G. | Mean across the observationsTable 1, p. 8, row "Dedicated biomass": n = 14 observations; Tukey group G. | 2022 | 160,000.0 | final |
| Rooftop solar panelsSection 2 (Methods), solar PV, p. 6: "Integrated Solar PV, i.e. rooftop solar, is assigned an LUIE of zero in this study." Not measured: an assumption of the study. | The paper's one definition for this sourceSection 2 (Methods), solar PV, p. 6: "Integrated Solar PV, i.e. rooftop solar, is assigned an LUIE of zero in this study." Not measured: an assumption of the study. | Assigned by the authors, not measuredSection 2 (Methods), solar PV, p. 6: "Integrated Solar PV, i.e. rooftop solar, is assigned an LUIE of zero in this study." Not measured: an assumption of the study. | 2022 | 0.0 | final |
Where it comes from
- Producer
- Lovering, Swain, Blomqvist and Hernandez (University of Michigan, Breakthrough Institute, University of California Davis); published in PLOS ONE (Public Library of Science) · Land-use intensity of electricity (Lovering et al. 2022)
- Version
- PLOS ONE 17(7): e0270155 (2022)
- Fetched
- 2026-10-08 (automatically), 159,635 bytes
- Fingerprint
- sha256 363fd323e30d81a81475af4d475cb2ca5b61941a7effadb0bc67489c08c458f0ETag "eaee50376eb9a2325161d6abc8c38473" · Last-Modified Wed, 06 Jul 2022 17:42:56 GMT
- Copies
- No Wayback copy recorded yet.Our copy of the exact file
- Cite the producer
- Lovering J, Swain M, Blomqvist L, Hernandez RR (2022) Land-use intensity of electricity production and tomorrow's energy landscape. PLoS ONE 17(7): e0270155. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0270155
- Producer
- Lovering, Swain, Blomqvist and Hernandez (University of Michigan, Breakthrough Institute, University of California Davis); published in PLOS ONE (Public Library of Science) · Land-use intensity of electricity (Lovering et al. 2022)
- Version
- PLOS ONE 17(7): e0270155 (2022)
- Fetched
- 2026-10-08 (automatically), 1,104,687 bytes
- Fingerprint
- sha256 d7d2d988f9a6c7a2845deeab2e8d123308d33220efbdbf27ab64a6a959132b16ETag CPTq5v7n5PgCEAE= · Last-Modified 2022-07-06T17:42:56.837Z
- Cite the producer
- Lovering J, Swain M, Blomqvist L, Hernandez RR (2022) Land-use intensity of electricity production and tomorrow's energy landscape. PLoS ONE 17(7): e0270155. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0270155
What was done to it
Read Table 1 from the article's XML (sha256 363fd323e30d…): its title, its seven column headings and its 12 row labels had to be exactly as expected. Found each row, cell by cell, in the printed table on page 8 of the PDF (sha256 d7d2d988f9a6…) before publishing.
Code: pipeline/src/envdash/transforms/energy/lovering_2022.py · code sha256 37be43818044a34f… · inputs 363fd323e30d… d7d2d988f9a6…
Published the median, the interquartile range and the mean of each row as printed (thousands commas removed, nothing rounded or recalculated). The interquartile range is the paper's own column: the width between the 25th and 75th percentiles, published as its own statistic, not as bounds. The number of observations and the paper's ANOVA group are in each value's note; the standard error is not published.
Code: pipeline/src/envdash/transforms/energy/lovering_2022.py · code sha256 37be43818044a34f… · inputs 363fd323e30d… d7d2d988f9a6…
Wind and natural gas each have two rows, footprint and spacing, published as two values of the 'area' dimension; the other sources have one definition each.
Code: pipeline/src/envdash/transforms/energy/lovering_2022.py · code sha256 37be43818044a34f… · inputs 363fd323e30d… d7d2d988f9a6…
Added rooftop solar at zero, labelled 'assigned', because the methods state that the study assigns it zero (sentence found in both files); it is an assumption, not a measurement.
Code: pipeline/src/envdash/transforms/energy/lovering_2022.py · code sha256 37be43818044a34f… · inputs 363fd323e30d… d7d2d988f9a6…
Found 7 sentences that the scope relies on (footprint and spacing, fuel-supply land, manufacturing land left out, and the lowest and highest medians) in the XML's text and on their PDF pages, and checked that nuclear has the lowest and dedicated biomass the highest median in the table.
Code: pipeline/src/envdash/transforms/energy/lovering_2022.py · code sha256 37be43818044a34f… · inputs 363fd323e30d… d7d2d988f9a6…
What it covers
- Geography
- Sites studied: nuclear, wind and ground-mounted solar in the United States, coal in the United States and Canada, dams in 80 countries, other sources from published studies worldwide
- Basis
- Land occupied per unit of electricity generated, in hectares per terawatt-hour per year. Includes the land used to supply fuel (mining, processing, transport, gas fields, energy crops) for coal, natural gas, nuclear and dedicated biomass. Excludes land to make panels, turbines and plants, transmission lines, offshore areas and underground impacts. Hydroelectric covers single-purpose dams only (the reservoir area). Rooftop solar is zero by assumption, not measured. The period is the year of publication.
- Unit
- hectares per terawatt-hour generated in a year (ha/TWh/yr)