ABSTRACT
Much has been said about the introduction of the automobile and the changes in the built environment as a consequence of this unprecedented form of individual and motorized transportation. At present, we are witnessing the emergence of another land use that will affect the appearance and spatial organization of the larger physical environment across the world, including both urban and rural landscapes. Whereas transportation claims no more than 2% of the land surface of most countries, the provision of renewable energy is expected to occupy a much larger and more substantial part of the physical environment. Energy-related land use has already started to compete with food production in some places. There is no doubt that the assimilation, conversion, storage, and transport of renewable energy will be one of the most important land uses of the twenty-‚rst century.
