Land Use and Landscape Impacts of the Energy Transition: Challenges and Opportunities for Integrated Energy and Landscape Planning

Dear Colleagues,

The link between fossil fuels and geopolitical instability requires an acceleration of the clean energy transition to sustainable energy sources and, according to the IEA (2025), global renewable energy capacity will double between 2025 and 2030, with solar photovoltaics playing a significant role.

Strategies and governance for the development of renewables vary between countries (Díaz-Cuevas et al., 2025), while studies on the optimal location of plants are growing rapidly (Krewitt & Nitsch, 2003; Hofer et al., 2016; Díaz-Cuevas et al., 2018; Yushchenko et al., 2018; Romero-Ramos et al., 2023). To accelerate the transition, the EU (Directive 2023/2413) has identified areas for renewables, where the territorial distribution is the combined effect of regulatory and restrictive regimes; however, the rapid transition poses risks to the landscape and agriculture—without effective coordination, land consumption, environmental degradation, and desertification may increase.

The aim of this Special Issue is to collect original research articles and review papers that offer insights into the evolving dynamics of spatial and landscape planning in the context of the ongoing energy transition. Particular attention is devoted to the identification and mapping of areas suitable for the installation of renewable energy systems (RESs), taking into account the need to minimize land consumption while maximizing energy efficiency to meet national and local energy demands. Contributions are also encouraged that explore governance frameworks, planning tools, and policy strategies that promote a fair and just transition—balancing environmental protection, landscape preservation, and socio-economic development. The Special Issue seeks to foster an interdisciplinary dialogue among scholars, practitioners, and policymakers on how spatial and territorial planning can effectively guide the deployment of renewable energies in harmony with sustainability goals.

This Special Issue will welcome manuscripts that link the following themes:

1. Relationship between energy transition policies and planning practices (regional and city scale, landscape planning);
2. GIS-based analysis and models to assess land use transformations related to energy transition;
3. Spatial aspects of energy transition—agriculture, ecological, and landscape issues;
4. Energy transition planning practices in fragile territories—risks and opportunities for the territory and communities;
5. Solar landscapes—aspects and variations in the landscape dimension.

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

Dr. Luca Barbarossa
Dr. Eliana Fischer
Dr. Raffaele Pelorosso
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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