Balancing Renewable Energy Development and Biodiversity Conservation: An Interdisciplinary Multi-Criteria Decision-Making Approach for Wind Power Siting in China

Abstract

The world stands at the critical intersection of two escalating environmental crises: climate change and biodiversity loss (UN, 2022). While renewable energy is an essential strategy for climate mitigation, its expansion threatens to compromise biodiversity. In China, where wind and solar power have grown dramatically over the past decade, renewable energy infrastructure is increasingly reaching ecologically sensitive areas. This master's project explores how spatial decision-making tools can support the dual objectives of renewable energy development and biodiversity conservation by identifying optimal siting strategies for offshore wind and inland solar power infrastructure. This study aims to answer a key question: How can we optimize renewable energy development while minimizing adverse impacts on biodiversity, particularly migratory waterbirds in coastal China? To address this, the research integrates a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) spatial analysis with a Multi-Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM) approach, focusing particularly on the Chinese Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and mainland coastal provinces. The significance of this work lies in its interdisciplinary methodology and its direct policy relevance. The project not only builds on established MCDM-GIS frameworks but introduces a novel ecological dimension through high-resolution GPS tracking data from 38 Black-faced Spoonbills (Platalea minor)—a migratory, endangered species. This unique dataset allows for the incorporation of dynamic bird movement into siting analysis, thus refining our understanding of species-infrastructure interactions. The objectives of this research are the following:

Quantitatively assess renewable energy development potential within and outside ecologically sensitive areas to identify whether high development potential necessarily overlaps with ecologically sensitive zones. Evaluate the current spatial performance of existing wind and solar energy infrastructure. Develop MCDM maps to support decision-making under different scenarios of ecological, economic, and social priorities.

The project area includes China’s coastal provinces and its marine EEZ. Inland solar PV was examined in mainland coastal regions, while offshore wind analysis focused on the EEZ. The GIS analysis involved three main data categories: ecological (e.g., Important Bird Areas, ecological redline regions), infrastructure (e.g., existing wind turbines, PV plants), and development potential indices (i.e. the measurement of energy yield or income that a location can generate). Development potential inside and outside ecological sensitive areas was compared using Kolmogorov-Smirnov tests. Ecological regions were defined with 4 km buffers around nationally recognized conservation areas, and surrounding zones were analyzed using 8 km, 10 km, and 15 km control buffers to assess gradient trade-offs. The performance of current wind and solar installations was assessed by mapping their overlap with sensitive ecological areas and evaluating their development potential scores. A second phase employed an adjusted Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) approach to build a flexible MCDM model for offshore wind siting in EEZ. After removing constraint zones (e.g., nature reserves, areas deeper than 1000m), seven key criteria were selected for offshore wind siting: wind speed, ocean depth, seabed slope, distance to the power grid, LCOE, local firm activity (as a social proxy), and distance to ecologically important areas. These were normalized and weighted under three planning scenarios: Balanced, Ecological and Social Prioritized, and Economic and Construction Feasibility Prioritized. Our key findings include:

Energy Potential in Ecological Areas: Offshore wind potential within ecologically important areas often falls in a moderate range, avoiding extremely low-yield sites but rarely aligning with the highest-yield areas. Inland solar sites showed a similar trend. Thus, ecological areas are not consistently the most energy-rich, undermining the assumption that ecological harm is a necessary cost for energy gain. Suboptimal Current Siting: A significant number of current wind turbines and solar panels are located within ecologically sensitive regions, despite not corresponding to high development potential. For example, 9.15% of offshore wind turbines are within ecologically important areas, many in low-yield zones, suggesting inefficient or poorly regulated siting. Multi-Criteria Suitability Maps: The scenario-weighted suitability maps revealed strong spatial differences. Provinces like Liaoning, Zhejiang, and Fujian consistently emerged as high-potential, relatively low-conflict zones across all three scenarios. Shandong Province was rated higher in the Ecological and Social scenario, emphasizing its future potential under conservation-centered planning. In contrast, near-shore areas favorable in the economic scenario were often avoided in the ecological scenario, revealing the trade-offs in siting priorities.

This research provides a replicable methodology for integrating biodiversity considerations into renewable energy planning at a national scale. By illustrating that high development potential does not inherently conflict with biodiversity protection, the study calls for recalibrating decision-making to better reflect ecological values. It also reveals gaps in China's current renewable energy siting policies, which permitting infrastructure in sensitive regions has been found in a significant level due to limited enforcement and systematic planning. This highlights the need for fine-scale ecological data, dynamic wildlife movement monitoring, and scenario-based planning tools in policy reform. The new policy released in 2025 may improve the situation but the performance still requires further investigation. Moreover, the study advocates for continuous siting on ecological gradients and stronger biodiversity safeguards, especially in provinces undergoing rapid offshore energy development not just because of the importance of biodiversity conservation but also for efficient revenue generation. These insights are critical for implementing more sustainable and socially acceptable energy transitions not only in China but in other biodiverse regions undergoing energy transformation.