Planning Large Solar Power Plants – Sustainable Development: Paradigm or Reality?

Planning large-scale solar power plants – as well as other major renewable energy projects such as wind farms – cannot in itself be taken as a symbol of sustainable development without a comprehensive analysis of the manner in which such projects are conceived. Approaching the implementation of large solar power plants solely through their indisputable contribution to reducing the carbon footprint leads into a paradigm of sustainability self-evidence, even though their realisation may contradict the fundamental principles and tenets of sustainable development. Identifying an optimal approach to planning large solar power plants must therefore serve as a precondition for ensuring that their implementation is grounded in the fulfilment of these core principles of sustainability. In this context, assessing the complex interactions between planned projects and the diverse spatial potentials and constraints is both significant and indispensable, as it provides the basis for selecting an optimal site – a foundational prerequisite for an objectively sustainable realisation of such projects. This paper is dedicated precisely to underscoring the importance of sustainable planning, with particular emphasis on the critical role of optimal site selection for large solar power plants. It presents a methodological framework for the development of such projects grounded in spatial analyses. The results highlight the importance of the initial project-development phase, specifically the selection of an optimal location for its implementation. Through this approach, the planning of large solar power plants is extracted from the realm of the sustainability paradigm and situated within the tangible context of sustainable development.