#GolfCourses Use More Land Globally Than #Solar or #WindEnergy
Story by Mihai Andrei, February 25, 2025
"The land use of #RenewableEnergy is often criticized in public and political debates. However, a new study shows that something as frivolous as golf courses use up more land globally than solar or wind energy. Golf courses, which often serve a small number of #AffluentPeople, are also terrible for the #environment and use up a lot of #water and resources.
Competition for space
"The lush greenery you see on golf courses is a well-maintained lie. Golf courses use enormous amounts of water — sometimes in regions already facing shortages. Maintaining that flawless grass also means heavy reliance on #fertilizers and #pesticides, which seep into local waterways, harming# wildlife and #polluting #ecosystems. To make it even worse, golf courses are apparently competing with renewable energy for space.
"Every acre we allocate to one use is an acre less for another. Currently, more than 38,400 golf courses span the globe, occupying vast stretches of valuable land. Surprisingly, researchers from Germany’s Forschungszentrum Jülich found that countries (especially richer countries like the US, the UK, and Canada) dedicate far more land to golf courses than to #SolarFarms or #WindTurbines.
"Let’s put this into perspective. If you take the golf courses in just the top ten golfing countries and convert them into renewable energy, you’d get an extra 842 gigawatts (GW) of solar or 659 GW of wind capacity. And to put that into perspective, that’s more than the entire quantity of renewable energy these countries produce and are forecast to have for a few years.
Replacing golf courses with something more useful isn’t a new idea, it’s already happening in some areas. In Japan’s Hyogo Prefecture, an entire golf course now hosts 260,000 solar panels, generating 125 gigawatt-hours annually. Meanwhile, in South Korea, 'screen golf,' indoor simulated golfing experiences, provide a popular, space-efficient alternative to traditional courses."
Read more:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/politics/general/golf-courses-use-more-land-globally-than-solar-or-wind-energy/ar-AA1zHvIE
#Renewables #RenewablesNow #GolfCourses #WaterIsLife #Rewilding #WindTurbines
Story by Mihai Andrei, February 25, 2025
"The land use of #RenewableEnergy is often criticized in public and political debates. However, a new study shows that something as frivolous as golf courses use up more land globally than solar or wind energy. Golf courses, which often serve a small number of #AffluentPeople, are also terrible for the #environment and use up a lot of #water and resources.
Competition for space
"The lush greenery you see on golf courses is a well-maintained lie. Golf courses use enormous amounts of water — sometimes in regions already facing shortages. Maintaining that flawless grass also means heavy reliance on #fertilizers and #pesticides, which seep into local waterways, harming# wildlife and #polluting #ecosystems. To make it even worse, golf courses are apparently competing with renewable energy for space.
"Every acre we allocate to one use is an acre less for another. Currently, more than 38,400 golf courses span the globe, occupying vast stretches of valuable land. Surprisingly, researchers from Germany’s Forschungszentrum Jülich found that countries (especially richer countries like the US, the UK, and Canada) dedicate far more land to golf courses than to #SolarFarms or #WindTurbines.
"Let’s put this into perspective. If you take the golf courses in just the top ten golfing countries and convert them into renewable energy, you’d get an extra 842 gigawatts (GW) of solar or 659 GW of wind capacity. And to put that into perspective, that’s more than the entire quantity of renewable energy these countries produce and are forecast to have for a few years.
Replacing golf courses with something more useful isn’t a new idea, it’s already happening in some areas. In Japan’s Hyogo Prefecture, an entire golf course now hosts 260,000 solar panels, generating 125 gigawatt-hours annually. Meanwhile, in South Korea, 'screen golf,' indoor simulated golfing experiences, provide a popular, space-efficient alternative to traditional courses."
Read more:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/politics/general/golf-courses-use-more-land-globally-than-solar-or-wind-energy/ar-AA1zHvIE
#Renewables #RenewablesNow #GolfCourses #WaterIsLife #Rewilding #WindTurbines
504 Battery Dr •
Anything to keep wind/solar from moving into and destroying undeveloped areas.
Solar should be installed on all buildings before being put in undeveloped areas.
Too costly to reinforce buildings for the structural support needed is always the excuse to not do it.
Which is the lamest excuse ever.
There is no way that the costs of destroying undeveloped lands and transporting that electricity to where it's needed is cheaper than refurbishing buildings to support solar panels.
IllTemperedCaviar •
504 Battery Dr •
I shouldn't have labeled city ppl being nimbys about solar panels.
Solar panels on buildings are not eyesores to me.
Out in the country, where there are acres and acres of them all together - that's an abomination , imo.
All I see with those solar farms is land that could be rewilded instead (as an effective tool to fighting climate change, and to enjoy the beauty of nature).
IllTemperedCaviar •
Hugs4friends ♾🇺🇦 🇵🇸😷 hat dies geteilt