Abstract

Renewable Energy Suitability Modeling Tool
Track: Environmental Management
Authors: Andrew Orr

Interest in renewable energy is growing and land managers are now questioning if properties are suitable for development of a renewable energy system in the Mojave Desert region of California. This paper focuses on solar, wind, and geothermal energy as three main renewable energy methods pertaining to the Mojave area. GIS can assess development potential in a specific area by the creation of a suitability tool. This suitability tool uses a user-defined, weighted value placed on data which allows for modeling of specific features important to the criteria of a renewable energy. Development of this tool will transpire in ArcInfo 10 and utilize prebuilt Spatial Analyst tools to deliver data to the tool. The tool will be constructed on top of the Spatial Analyst Weighted Overlay tool using the Java programing language. A raster file will be output that shows the areas suitable for the renewable energy development.