Environmental Siting Framework for Wind Farms: A Case Study in the Dodecanese Islands

Maria Panagiotidou, George Xydis and Christopher Koroneos
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Maria Panagiotidou: Interdisciplinary Programme of Postgraduate Studies, Environment and Development, National Technical University of Athens, Heroon Polytechniou 9, Zografou 15780, Greece
George Xydis: Soft Energy Applications & Environmental Protection Lab, Piraeus University of Applied Sciences, P.O. Box, 41046, Athens 12201, Greece
Christopher Koroneos: Interdisciplinary Programme of Postgraduate Studies, Environment and Development, National Technical University of Athens, Heroon Polytechniou 9, Zografou 15780, Greece

Resources, 2016, vol. 5, issue 3, 1-25

Abstract: The increasing rate of energy consumption, the depletion of conventional energy sources and the environmental degradation caused has led to thorough research on Renewable Energy Sources (RES), which have been seen as a sustainable solution to climatic change. However, RES installation has a considerable environmental impact, which should be taken into consideration. The present study deals with the development of an integrated framework so as to evaluate land environmental suitability for RES installation, especially for Wind Farm (WF) siting. The proposed methodology consists of the Analytical Hierarchy Process, the Geographic Information System and Remote Sensing tools. In the first part, a set of constraints, which are based on Greek legislation and international research, identifies the potential sites for wind park installation. In the second part, a variety of criteria are employed to evaluate the area under consideration. To exemplify the utility of the methodology, an application of the proposed framework to the Dodecanese Islands is further illustrated. One of the first findings is that, despite the implemented restrictions, 1/4 of the land remains suitable for WF siting. The necessity of the method used is confirmed through the comparison of results with the already installed wind parks.

Keywords: renewable energy; wind power; siting; islands; Dodecanese (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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