An indicator-based approach to assess and compare the environmental and socio-economic consequences of photovoltaic parks in Romania's development regions

The current population growth, urban development, technological advancements and the improvements in the quality of life have urged the need for alternative energy sources. For over 20 years, the European Union has been developing climate and renewable energy policies, aimed to achieve the goal of decarbonizing the entire EU economy by 2050. Increasing the production and use of renewable energy is also a key pillar of the REPowerEU Plan, which is the EU's strategy to get rid of Russian fossil fuel imports as soon as possible As a result, the expansion of solar energy industry has been noticed. Solar energy has substantial benefits compared with conventional energy sources; however, certain environmental and socio-economic challenges should be addressed. The paper is aimed at providing a whole image of the photovoltaic (PV) energy in Romania in terms of (1) mapping all PV parks, (2) assessing the key environmental and socio-economic consequences of PV parks based on computing selected indicators and (3) understanding the spatial differences of PV parks distribution in relation to the underlying factors and the resulted consequences. Both quantitative (spatial and statistical analyses, i.e. the share of PV parks for each land use/cover category, distance to natural protected areas) and qualitative (expert judgement, questionnaires and interviews) methods and data were used to reveal the positives and the negatives of PV energy installation and use. Based on the calculated spatial and statistical indicators, the key findings of this study showed that, despite its clean and sustainable nature, the environmental consequences of solar energy are generally associated with some negative effects on the environmental components, while the socio-economic ones can be generally connected with some financial benefits for the local communities.