Cutting-Edge Research on Sustainable Development of Renewable Energy Systems: Planning Processes, Land Use Policies and Optimization Strategies

Dear Colleagues,

The urgent need for an efficient transition away from fossil fuels is underscored by the historic adoption of the targets set at COP28 to triple renewable energy (RE) capacity by 2030, where, it was strongly indicated, the significance of RE for sustainable development strategies and the acceleration of the installation of proven technologies will contribute to a greener future and the achievement of the global sustainable development goals.

Planning processes have a key role to play in the suitable development of RE technologies, as they are directly linked with the economic profitability, technical feasibility, social acceptability and environmental sustainability of future installation projects. Determining land suitability for the placement of RE technologies is a demanding and multidimensional process. It requires the formation of innovative and versatile methods that expand the foundational work in this domain by incorporating public perspectives and stakeholders’ expertise into various planning phases to provide a more holistic perspective of RE’s potential and by integrating additional layers of analysis, such as the identification of land utilization with the application of field investigation techniques, to produce significantly improved GIS (geographic information system) results. The importance of GIS-based assessments in spatial planning and the development of RE technologies is apparent now more than ever. GIS enhances the decision-making process for RE developers, planners and stakeholders and provides new information from what is already known by enabling the overlay analysis of complex datasets and the geoprocessing modelling of fundamental data. Strong policy frameworks and planning regulations are also critical to sustaining RE and fulfilling the UN sustainable development goals, as they can boost new investments and develop practical solutions to facilitate the transition to RE technology implementation.

This Special Issue aims to discuss innovations around the planning and development processes of RE systems to further promote sustainable RE installations by incorporating a better understanding of stakeholder participation in strategic planning approaches and policy frameworks. In addition, it aims to provide breakthrough insights regarding the ability of GIS-based assessments to simplify real world complexities, analyze and combine valuable multiple datasets and produce sustainable placement solutions for RE technologies. This Special Issue advances cutting-edge research and forward-thinking policies on land use/cover changes for RE project placement and on strategic spatial planning of RE-related infrastructure (e.g., electricity grids and substations) aiming to suggest optimal decarbonization plans. Authors are encouraged to include a brief statement in their manuscript, in which they shall highlight the contributions of their research to the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

The subject of this Special Issue directly relates to the journal scope by inviting contributions on (a) land planning approaches and applications, (b) aspects of land use and land cover change, (c) the land-related aspects of achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals and (d) land-related issues in environmental/geosciences, social, economic (sustainability) sciences and energy research.

In this Special Issue, we invite papers focusing on, but not limited to, the following scientific topics:

• Planning processes for RE sources (wind, solar, hydro, biomass, etc.);
• Policy development and regulatory frameworks for RE systems;
• Land use/cover changes for RE projects placement;
• GIS-based assessments for sustainable development of RE systems;
• Stakeholder engagement in land planning of RE technologies;
• Strategic planning approaches for RE related infrastructure (e.g., electricity grid and substations);
• Decision support methods for land planning of RE projects;
• Environmental impact assessments of RE systems related to their placement.

We look forward to receiving your original research articles and reviews.

Dr. Sofia Spyridonidou
Prof. Dr. Vasiliki Tsoukala
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Land is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• geographic information system (GIS)
• renewable energy sources
• multicriteria decision-making analysis
• site selection
• strategic spatial planning
• land use changes
• land use policy
• stakeholder engagement
• optimization strategies
• decarbonization plans