A new study has found that in countries where golf is a particularly popular sport, the amount of land used for golf courses is considerable more than that for solar and wind projects.
While not advocating that all golf courses should be replaced by renewables, the study points out that in the ten countries with the most golf courses, the area they cover could support up to 842 GW of solar and 659 GW of wind capacity, which, in many cases is more than is currently installed.
At a time when critics of renewable projects complain about the amount of land they occupy, the study puts the matter into some perspective by highlighting the vast areas taken up by golf courses, which are enjoyed by a very small – and generally more affluent – proportion of the population.
As of last year, there were around 38,400 golf courses in the world. 16,000 of them in the United States, with the United Kingdom second on around 3,100, and Japan third (c2,700).
China have the largest golf courses by some distance, with an average of 0.8km² each. In Japan and UK the figure is nearer 0.5km². Utility-scale solar farms require around 0.01 km² of land per MW and wind farms around 0.12 km² per MW.
In terms of what proportion of land is occupied by golf courses, the UK tops the list with 0.49% of its land given over to the sport.
In some countries it was found that the area covered by golf courses would be sufficient to meet the medium-term targets for onshore wind or solar PV.
In others the challenge is greater. For the USA to achieve 100% clean energy by 2035, around 0.4% of its total land area would need to given over to renewables. This represents 4.7 times more land than currently occupied by golf courses.
In some countries golf courses have been converted. In Japan, a golf course was converted into a solar park with 260,000 solar panels (125 GWh).
Dr. Jann Weinand, lead author of the study and Head of the Integrated Scenarios department at Forschungszentrum Jülich, said: ‘Our study does not advocate for the direct conversion of golf courses, but it highlights the vast potential for renewable energy on similarly large and underutilized areas. In light of the ongoing debates about land use for renewables, it is crucial to consider how we allocate land overall—especially when significant space is dedicated to activities that benefit only a limited segment of the population.’
The study can be accessed here.
Photo: Amauri Cruz Filho/Unsplash