SITING A WIND PROJECT - Wind Resource Assessment: A Practical Guide to Developing a Wind Project - page 22

1. Wind Resource. This is almost always a key consideration because the better
the resource, the greater the potential power production and project revenues.
Before a wind monitoring campaign is conducted, the developer must consider
sources of regional wind resource information to identify potentially attractive
sites. This process is described in Section 3.2.
2. Buildable Windy Area. The larger the area where turbines can be installed with
an adequate resource, the larger the wind project can be. The buildable windy
area is often constrained by topography and also by other factors described
below.
3. Proximity to Existing Transmission Lines. The costs and risks associated with
building new lines to connect wind projects to the existing transmission grid
are substantial. In general, wind project developers try to minimize the distance
that must be covered.
4. Road Access. The developer should consider whether it is feasible to transport
wind monitoring equipment to the site by truck through the existing roads and
trails and the possible need to build new roads or upgrade existing roads to
support the eventual delivery of wind turbines.
5. Land Cover. All other things being equal, development costs are generally
greater in forested terrain than elsewhere, as trees have to be cleared for wind
monitoring masts and eventually for wind turbines, service roads, and other plant
needs. Conversely, some land cover types, such as cropland and rangeland, may
be especially conducive to wind energy development.
6. Land Use Restrictions. Areas may be off-limits for a variety of reasons, such
as for military use or wildlife protection. Such restrictions may eliminate a site
from consideration or constrain its buildable area.
7. Proximity to Residential Areas. A common concern for communities is the prox-
imity of wind turbines to residential areas. Residents may fear the turbines will
generate too much noise or create a blight on the landscape. In many regions,
these concerns are codified in the form of required setbacks from existing homes
and other buildings.
8. Cultural, Environmental, and Other Concerns. These issues can extend well
beyond officially designated restricted areas. For example, some sites may be
especially important to particular groups for historical or religious reasons. Oth-
ers may encroach on sensitive wildlife habitats not under official protection. Yet
others may be deemed by the local community to have exceptional scenic or
esthetic value. Although issues like these may not strictly rule out development,
they can arouse public opposition to a project and thereby impede the develop-
ment process and increase costs. The developer should be aware of objections
that could be raised and take them into account in the site selection.
With the appropriate data, most of the factors described above are amenable to
quantitative analysis using a GIS. Such systems have become an integral part of
today's site-selection process, as they enable analysts to efficiently organize and ana-
lyze a large amount of information and to screen sites against a number of often