The influence of photovoltaic and nuclear energy sources on the use of land in the Czech Republic

Abstract

The human population is highly dependent on electricity, and to maintain the current progress of its use and for future requirements, it is necessary to look for ways to ensure sufficient energy. The aim of the article is to compare nuclear energy as a representative of non-renewable energy sources with photovoltaic energy as a representative of renewable energy sources (RES). The comparison is made in terms of the effect on agricultural land occupation, given that soil as a basic production factor is completely unique and that nuclear energy sources are often used as a backup for RES. We used a quantitative research method based on deduction using available real data to compare agricultural land occupation by these two energy sources. The results indicate that the effect of photovoltaic power plants on agricultural land occupation is 100 times greater than that of nuclear power plants. In terms of the effect on agricultural land occupation, the combination of solar and nuclear power plants seems to be appropriate. This combination partially eliminates the negative agricultural land occupation consequence of using solar power plants.