GIS-based methods for sustainable wind power planning

• Research motivationRenewable energy has great importance in the work to counteract the global climate changes. The Swedish government has seta target that in 2020, 50% of the energy use shall come from renewable energy, and the government has also declared a longterm commitment for Sweden to be independent of fossil fuels. To reach these targets wind power is expected to play a greatpart, and approximately 50 TWh of new wind power is needed to meet this objective, compared to the current annual production of approximately 16 TWh. However, climate change is not the only issue at hand, and there is a risk of conflicts between meetingthe targets for renewable energy and other sustainability objectives, e.g. concerning ecosystem services, such as habitatsupporting biodiversity, recreation and cultural landscapes. Hence to steer towards a sustainable planning of wind power, targets and objectives as well as decision support has to be dealt with systematically, encompassing social, economic, technical and ecological perspectives.ObjectiveThe objective of the project is to develop GIS-based methods that can be used as planning support in sustainable planning of wind power, in cooperation with regional and municipal actors. The method will function as decision support, which will helpplanners and decision makers at local and regional level to systematically handle the different aspects related to wind power localisation.MethodologyThe project is performed in collaboration with the County Administrative Board of Västernorrland County, which is the study areafor the project. Initially, a literature study is performed to gain knowledge about earlier research in the field and identify importantfactors to include in the methodology. Workshops are held with the included actors, to gain further understanding of what information is relevant when planning for wind power, and to gain local knowledge about the study area; what issues are at hand,and what factors govern wind power planning in the particular area. During the workshops different scenarios related to theplanning process are also developed. The method will include the development of a number of GIS-models to be used in a multicriteria analysis that can be used for design and evaluation of the different planning scenarios.Preliminary resultsThe literature study as well as the workshops reveals that the location of wind turbines often can have impact on, and render conflict between, different interests and objectives. Factors of high concern when planning for locating wind turbines in the County of Västernorrland are, besides wind speed and technical considerations; noise impact, visual impact, and impact on certain bird species, reindeer hearding and recreation. In order to handle these factors, multi-criteria decision analysis within a GIS environment can support planning in the face of complex problems, with capabilities to handle multiple and often conflicting objectives, and to find sustainable solutions to decision-making problems.Management implicationsThe project will result in a General GIS-based Planning Support (GPS) methodology to integrate important sustainability issuesin wind power planning, which can be applied generally in future spatial planning. The project will contribute to a morepredictable planning process, where disparate sustainability targets will be handled in an integrated and systematic way, therebyincreasing the possibility of reaching the targets.

Ämnesord

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Geovetenskap och miljövetenskap -- Miljövetenskap (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Earth and Related Environmental Sciences -- Environmental Sciences (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Land and Water Resources Engineering

Mark- och vattenteknik

Publikations- och innehållstyp

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