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Workflow: Environmental Assessment of Wind Farms in Northern Scotland

As the threat of climate change increases globally, many countries are turning to renewable energy to reduce carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions. Wind farms are an important source of green energy that are being used to replace electricity derived from fossil fuels, such as coal. While the environmental benefits of replacing fossil fuel derived energy with wind energy are vast, there can be some environmental concerns with installing wind farms in certain areas of ecological importance. Use this workflow to analyze wind farm proposals based on their proximity to protected wild lands and existing roads.

 

To learn more about this workflow please see the Case Study.

Note: This workflow presents an approach to using ArcGIS to perform proximity analysis using multiple methods. While the data is real, the scenario, analysis, and resulting decisions are hypothetical.

Photo credit: Andy Jamieson. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

This map contains data under crown copyright and database right (2015) by the Ordnance Survey

How to use the workflow

This Map Journal is designed to lead users through the case study workflow in ArcGIS Online. You may choose to access the data and perform the analysis in your ArcGIS Online account. If you do not wish to use your credits, you can read through the workflow, which includes images of the tool panes used in each step, while interacting with the layers from the web map. Analysis tools cannot be run from within this Map Journal, but the web map will change to display the appropriate layers, including new outputs, at each step. You can zoom in and out on the map, pan to different locations, and view pop-up windows by clicking on features.

 

The following steps can be used to add the data to your own web map and begin performing the analysis from the workflow:

  • Follow the link to the feature layer used in this case study.
  • Use the Open in Map Viewer button to add the feature layer to a map. The layer includes roads, windfarm proposal areas, windfarm proposal points, and wild land areas.

  • Follow the steps in the workflow below to run the Analysis tools and complete the case study.

Wind farm visibility from wild lands

Wild lands must be both physically and visibly remote. Viewsheds can be used to determine which wind farms will be visible from wild lands. However, the Create Viewshed tool requires point inputs. Therefore, the wild land areas must be converted to point features.

  • Use the Find Centroids tool (Find Locations toolset) to create points using the wild lands.
    • Note: Analysis tools can be accessed through the Analysis button on the map's menu bar or through your feature layer.
  • Parameters:
    1. North Scotland Wild Land Areas
    2. Contained by input features
    3. Wild_Land_Centroids
Find Centroids parameters

 

Now that you have centroids for your wild lands, you can create your viewsheds.

 

 

  • Use the Create Viewshed tool (Find Locations toolset) to determine which areas are visible from each observer point.
  • Parameters:
    1. Wild_Land_Centroids
    2. Height of observer locations: 1.78 meters. Height of other objects off the ground: 100 meters. Maximum viewing distance : 50 kilometers 
    3. WindFarm_Viewshed

 

Create Viewsheds parameters

 

Note:

 

The height of the observer is set to 1.78 meters (5'10"), which is an average height of an adult male. The height of the other objects on the ground, in this case wind turbines, is 100 meters, which is the height of the most popular wind turbine model. The maximum viewing distance is 50 kilometers, which is the maximum distance allowed in the Create Viewsheds tool. The distances were set using meters and kilometers to complement the data's projected coordinate system during analysis.

Wind farm infringement on wild land areas and site accessibility

The criteria for designating an area as a wild land include perceived naturalness of land cover, ruggedness of terrain, remoteness from public roads and modern artifacts, and visible lack of buildings, roads, and modern artifacts. Remove the wind farms that are located on wild lands or in view of Wild Lands.

 

Wind farm installation will be less harmful to the environment if the site has existing road access. Remove the sites that are not located on existing roads.

 

Proposals with the status Approved or Installed have already passed their reviews. Keep only the proposals in the Application or Scoping phase.

 

  • Use the Find Existing Locations tool (Find Locations toolset) to select new proposals that are not on or visible from wild lands and have road access.  
  • Parameters:
    1. North Scotland Wind Farm Proposals
    2. North Scotland Wind Farm Proposals does not intersect North Scotland Wild Land Areas and North Scotland Wind Farm Proposals does not intersect WindFarm_Viewshed and North Scotland Wind Farm Proposals intersects North Scotland Roads and (North Scotland Wind Farm Proposals where STATUS is 'Application' or North Scotland Wind Farm Proposals where STATUS is 'Scoping' )
    3. WindFarms_PassedReview

Tip: Click the operator between the two attribute queries to change it to or. Shift and click the two attribute queries and click the group button to group the queries.

 

Workflow: Environmental Assessment of Wind Farms in Northern Scotland

As the threat of climate change increases globally, many countries are turning to renewable energy to reduce carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions. Wind farms are an important source of green energy that are being used to replace electricity derived from fossil fuels, such as coal. While the environmental benefits of replacing fossil fuel derived energy with wind energy are vast, there can be some environmental concerns with installing wind farms in certain areas of ecological importance. Use this workflow to analyze wind farm proposals based on their proximity to protected wild lands and existing roads.

 

To learn more about this workflow please see the Case Study.

Note: This workflow presents an approach to using ArcGIS to perform proximity analysis using multiple methods. While the data is real, the scenario, analysis, and resulting decisions are hypothetical.

Photo credit: Andy Jamieson. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

This map contains data under crown copyright and database right (2015) by the Ordnance Survey

Tap for details Swipe to explore

LEARN MORE

Tap to go back Swipe to explore

How to use the workflow

This Map Journal is designed to lead users through the case study workflow in ArcGIS Online. You may choose to access the data and perform the analysis in your ArcGIS Online account. If you do not wish to use your credits, you can read through the workflow, which includes images of the tool panes used in each step, while interacting with the layers from the web map. Analysis tools cannot be run from within this Map Journal, but the web map will change to display the appropriate layers, including new outputs, at each step. You can zoom in and out on the map, pan to different locations, and view pop-up windows by clicking on features.

 

The following steps can be used to add the data to your own web map and begin performing the analysis from the workflow:

  • Follow the link to the feature layer used in this case study.
  • Use the Open in Map Viewer button to add the feature layer to a map. The layer includes roads, windfarm proposal areas, windfarm proposal points, and wild land areas.

  • Follow the steps in the workflow below to run the Analysis tools and complete the case study.

Tap for details Swipe to explore

LEARN MORE

Tap to go back Swipe to explore

Wind farm visibility from wild lands

Wild lands must be both physically and visibly remote. Viewsheds can be used to determine which wind farms will be visible from wild lands. However, the Create Viewshed tool requires point inputs. Therefore, the wild land areas must be converted to point features.

  • Use the Find Centroids tool (Find Locations toolset) to create points using the wild lands.
    • Note: Analysis tools can be accessed through the Analysis button on the map's menu bar or through your feature layer.
  • Parameters:
    1. North Scotland Wild Land Areas
    2. Contained by input features
    3. Wild_Land_Centroids
Find Centroids parameters

 

Now that you have centroids for your wild lands, you can create your viewsheds.

 

 

  • Use the Create Viewshed tool (Find Locations toolset) to determine which areas are visible from each observer point.
  • Parameters:
    1. Wild_Land_Centroids
    2. Height of observer locations: 1.78 meters. Height of other objects off the ground: 100 meters. Maximum viewing distance : 50 kilometers 
    3. WindFarm_Viewshed

 

Create Viewsheds parameters

 

Note:

 

The height of the observer is set to 1.78 meters (5'10"), which is an average height of an adult male. The height of the other objects on the ground, in this case wind turbines, is 100 meters, which is the height of the most popular wind turbine model. The maximum viewing distance is 50 kilometers, which is the maximum distance allowed in the Create Viewsheds tool. The distances were set using meters and kilometers to complement the data's projected coordinate system during analysis.

Tap for details Swipe to explore

LEARN MORE

Tap to go back Swipe to explore

Wind farm infringement on wild land areas and site accessibility

The criteria for designating an area as a wild land include perceived naturalness of land cover, ruggedness of terrain, remoteness from public roads and modern artifacts, and visible lack of buildings, roads, and modern artifacts. Remove the wind farms that are located on wild lands or in view of Wild Lands.

 

Wind farm installation will be less harmful to the environment if the site has existing road access. Remove the sites that are not located on existing roads.

 

Proposals with the status Approved or Installed have already passed their reviews. Keep only the proposals in the Application or Scoping phase.

 

  • Use the Find Existing Locations tool (Find Locations toolset) to select new proposals that are not on or visible from wild lands and have road access.  
  • Parameters:
    1. North Scotland Wind Farm Proposals
    2. North Scotland Wind Farm Proposals does not intersect North Scotland Wild Land Areas and North Scotland Wind Farm Proposals does not intersect WindFarm_Viewshed and North Scotland Wind Farm Proposals intersects North Scotland Roads and (North Scotland Wind Farm Proposals where STATUS is 'Application' or North Scotland Wind Farm Proposals where STATUS is 'Scoping' )
    3. WindFarms_PassedReview

Tip: Click the operator between the two attribute queries to change it to or. Shift and click the two attribute queries and click the group button to group the queries.

 

Tap for details Swipe to explore

LEARN MORE

Tap to go back Swipe to explore

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