Question to ChatGPT:
How much land would it take to install enough solar photovoltaic panels and wind mills to cover 200% of Australia’s electricity consumption?
Answer:
Australia’s annual electricity consumption in 2023 was approximately 273.11 TWh. To generate 200% of that—that is, about 546.22 TWh per year—you’d need the following land areas:
- Solar PV only
- NREL’s land‑use study finds a generation‑weighted average total area requirement of 3.6 acres per GWh of output .
- Converting units: 3.6 acres /GWh ≈ 1.46 ha /GWh.
- At 546,220 GWh / yr, area ≈ 546,220 GWh × 1.46 ha/GWh ≈ 795,700 ha ≈ 7,957 km² (0.10% of Australia’s land area).
- Wind only
- NREL’s wind‑plant study reports an average total project area of 34 ha per MW of nameplate capacity .
- Modern onshore wind farms in Australia average a 35% capacity factor , so each MW generates about 8,760 h × 0.35 ≈ 3.07 GWh/yr.
- To get 546,220 GWh/yr you need 546,220 / 3.07 ≈ 178,000 MW capacity, which at 34 ha/MW requires ≈ 6,052,000 ha ≈ 60,520 km² (0.79% of Australia).
- 50/50 mix (by energy)
- Half from PV, half from wind → 3980 km² (PV) + 30,260 km² (wind) ≈ 34,240 km² (0.45% of Australia).
Summary
- Solar PV only: ~8 000 km²
- Wind only: ~60 000 km²
- Equal mix: ~34 000 km²
All figures are approximate and refer to the total fenced/perimeter area of utility‑scale installations; the actual panel or turbine footprint is much smaller within that boundary.
