The shapefiles display areas with low and medium spatial vulnerability to ground-mounted photovoltaic systems (Badelt et al. 2020), which can serve as a "spatial fairway" for a sustainable energy transition. It can be assumed that the expansion of ground-mounted photovoltaics in areas with low spatial vulnerability is largely possible without conflicts with nature conservation or human well-being.

The basic data used and their classification into classes of spatial vulnerability can be taken from Badelt et al. (2020). Compared to the original analysis, updates were made that relate to the more precise differentiation of roads and railroad lines as well as special agricultural crops. Areas with low spatial vulnerability to ground-mounted PV systems thus comprise 618,114 ha (formerly 563,279 ha) in Lower Saxony. A medium spatial vulnerability is assigned to 860,195 ha (formerly 766,107 ha).