Countywide screenings for wind energy sites
It is conceivable, that in the course of the energy debate caused by climate change, the legal and sub-legal framework for the wind energy use will be adapted in order to develop new potentials. Thus the Directive of the European Parliament and the Council on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources defines that the contribution of renewable energy to the complete energy consumption shall be at an average of 20% in the community to 2020. For Germany the national aim is 18% in 2020. This aim only can be met, if the contribution of wind energy onshore also considerably increases and regional planning concepts are adapted.
Potential sites for wind energy use can be identified in Germany only by expert advice and good knowledge of the spatial planning and the nature conservation enactment. OECOS GmbH already conducted about 90 countywide screenings to identify and assess sites and larger areas with low conflicts for wind energy use. On the basis of spatial planning criteria and nature conservation categories our consultancy has developed a specific GIS method related to the systematic search of suitable areas that are characterized by low conflicts. This method is not only suitable in Germany. More than that it has already been proved in other European countries.
Derived from foreseeable development trends and, if necessary, from existing recommendations in coordination with the customer criteria will be developed by us to search for adequate sites. The digital processing safeguards a reliable identification of potential sites with few conflicts. Our method works without the use of expensive data. The benefit and advantage of this methodology consists in the prompt availability and high detail accuracy of the results as well as in an easily manageable input of resources.
In the past many suggestions were discussed to provide new areas for wind parks – for example whether the protection and safety distances of wind parks to certain uses could be reduced. A current suggestion consists in concentrating wind turbines in polluted areas and in reducing certain distance criteria related to these prerequisites.
Particularly freeways and railway tracks affect the adjacent areas considerably with their traffic emerge. This applies to noise, barrier effects for animals or also to the natural scenery. In these areas it is suitable to build wind turbines preferentially; the additional impairment turns out lower here than in the free landscape. This approach has just been confirmed and checked by a research project at the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Reactor Safety in three model regions. The potential to wind park areas depends very strongly on the concepts and criteria of the particular regional planning system.
In regard to its activities in many planning regions of Germany OECOS GmbH is about to extend its evaluation methods in order to estimate the precise wind potential of freeways and railway tracks.
In coordination with the customers the following tasks are conducted:
- Selection of the research area for suitable route sections (pre-load, wind speed, status of the regional planning etc.)
- Enquiry of the respectively current legal and planning criteria for the establishing of admissible areas for wind turbines in the respective region
- Suggestion of criteria and areas which allow the construction of wind turbines in the case of an imposition by freeways or railway tracks,
- Coordination of the land use and minimum distances with the customers,
- GIS-supported determination of burdened potential locations for wind converters along the selected route sections,
- Description of the sites, if necessary a check and concretion.