Advancing the renewable energy transition through land prioritisation and advanced photovoltaic technologies: A case study of Germany

• Gridded estimates of photovoltaic (PV) potential for Germany at 1 km resolution. • Evaluating PV land requirements to meet electricity demand in Germany. • Role of land-based restrictions and technology in large-scale PV energy production. • PV could generate 759 TWh, but stricter policies curtail it to 97 TWh. • Advanced PV technology could double energy output on the same land area. Achieving national climate targets while balancing land-use and biodiversity goals is a shared challenge for countries undergoing large-scale solar energy transitions. Strategic deployment of photovoltaic (PV) systems is essential to maximise energy output while minimising land use. This study explores strategies for land-efficient PV deployment by assessing the technical PV potential of ground mounted systems under varying land-use restrictions and PV technology scenarios. Using Germany as a case study, we integrated high-resolution climate data, PV potential modelling, and land suitability assessment across three levels of land-restriction (least, intermediate, most) and three PV technology efficiency levels (low, medium, high) to evaluate how land suitability and technology choices affect energy outcomes. Our results show that deploying high efficiency PV systems can more than double electricity generation from the same land area. Prioritising the most suitable land could produce up to 759 TWh of energy, whereas stricter land-use restrictions could limit this potential to just 97 TWh. We find that energy targets can be met using <1% of Germany’s land area, without compromising protected areas or biodiversity objectives, provided PV deployment is targeted to optimal sites and paired with advanced technologies. By aligning PV deployment with high-suitability land and advanced technologies, countries can reduce land demand and environmental trade-offs. This study proposes a scalable pathway to strengthen the renewable energy transition while supporting sustainable outcomes – making it relevant beyond Germany for global land-energy planning.