Abstract
GIS—A Common Tool for Sustainable Wind Development
Track: Climate Change
Author(s): Louie Greenwell, Kurt Howard
The use of GIS for wind energy prospecting has changed the way that developers look for new areas to locate wind farms. Environmental resource characteristics such as terrain, slope, wind speed and wind direction can be combined with data on sensitive wildlife habitats, bird migration patterns, archaeological sites, historic structures, turbine transportation routes, and transmission/grid information to build a complex analytical tool for better decision making. Suitability models can help answer the question of “where?”, but GIS can also help answer “how much?”, “how long?” and “at what cost?” Through several case studies, Stantec will demonstrate the comprehensive use of GIS to efficiently plan, develop, permit, construct, and maintain wind sites and will show how GIS is the common tool used by a multi-disciplinary team of professionals to provide sustainable solutions.
Louie Greenwell
Stantec
1901 Nelson Miller Parkway
Louisville , Kentucky 40223-2117
United States
Phone: 502-212-5042
E-mail: louie.greenwell@stantec.com
Kurt Howard
Stantec
30 Park Drive
Topsham , Maine 04086
United States
Phone: (207) 729-1199
E-mail: kurt.howard@stantec.com