Abstract
Technology related to solar power as a renewable energy resource has increased in recent years. However, in Japan, forestland has been converted into mega-solar power plants with more than 1 MW photovoltaic capacity and such conversions raise significant concerns as they degrade forest ecosystem services. In this study, the profit and power supplies generated by a mega-solar power plant and a cedar (Cryptomeria japonica) plantation were evaluated. The profit for the cedar plantation was estimated from saw log and wood chip production, and its power supply was estimated from wood chip production alone. These figures were based on an optimal forest management strategy that was generated using a dynamic programming model. In this numerical simulation, it was found that the power supply from the mega-solar power plant was 50–150 times more than that from the cedar plantation. Regarding profit, it was found that the simulated mega-solar power plant provided NPV (net present value) of 8.5–90.6 MM JPY (Japanese Yen)/1–3 ha (0.1–3.0 MM JPY/ha/year), while the forest management simulation generated an NPV of 29,863 JPY/ha/year (for one timber rotation) and SEV (soil expectation value) of 3.6 MM JPY/ha at most. To avoid the conversion of forests into mega-solar power plants, this difference provides a basis for the cost of maintaining forests for ecosystem services and potential economic incentives.
Highlights
Academic Editors: Howard M.Hoganson and Eric B
The Multi-Stage Projection Alternative Technique (MSPATH) algorithm [22] used in this study is a dynamic programming algorithm that considers the profit dynamics gained from thinning and harvesting to create a dynamic programming network using the thinning amount as a control and state variable
It has been previously used to evaluate the influence of logging residue collection in forest management [23], the effectiveness of low-density planting [24], carbon sequestration amounts in optimal felling regimes [17], and carbon sequestration amounts in optimal felling regimes that factor in subsidies as well as the trade-offs between timber production and woody biomass energy utilization [25,26]
Summary
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Mega-solar power plants are large-scale, ground-based, solar power generation systems with a photovoltaic (PV) capacity of more than 1 MW. The large amount of land required by mega-solar power plants has recently been provided by underdeveloped, low-cost forested areas. This land conversion can have negative consequences on the environment, including loss of natural landscape, problems because of increased albedo, adverse ecosystem impacts, sediment runoff, decreased watershed services, and a decrease in carbon sequestration sources. Solar power generation is expected to be an alternative energy source with minimal greenhouse gas emissions
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