W12 Google Earth Wind Farm

Process Summary

Factor	Criteria
Wind Speed	9.5 knot speed at time of criteria check.  Wind speed dropped below the 5 knot minimum about twelve hours in the four-day period of recording
Ornithology	There are quite a few species in the general area, but does not hinder the major or minor flight path of migratory birds
Noise	Due to the distance from shore, noise is not a major factor for residence or businesses
Shadow Flicker	Wind farm is too far from land to have any effect on residences or businesses
Shipping Impact	Wind farm will not be located in a shipping lane, so no impact on trade.
Landscape & Visual Impact	At a height of 300 feet to top of turbine, they would be visible from about 22 miles away.  There is much controversy as to whether the wind farm would be good or bad to look at.  That is something that might need to be verified by the use of PPGIS.

Site Selection Justification

Wind Farm Justification

The major criteria in looking for an area to build a wind farm is there enough wind to turn the turbines so that enough electricity is produced so there is a net gain or profit.  I looked for an area that had a high wind average over the last recorded segment of time.  The actual study of an area would actually include a couple of years of study which we do not have the time to do in this class for this scenario.  The bay I see as a good spot due to wind average and also due to the fact that the wind will be channeled from the north between the land parcels.

The next factor I looked at was the impact on ornithology.  There are many species that live in surrounding area, but the wind farm will not be in the major or minor migratory path of birds.  So far there is very little to prove whether wind farms have any effect of bird populations.

With the distance to land, noise will not be a problem even though noise travels further on water than land.  It might bother boaters or fisherman, but they have the ability to move to another location. 

In reference to shadow flicker, the farm will be located far enough away from residences and businesses to have very little effect on them.  Boaters and fishermen will be main group affected by flicker. 

Another factor to consider was the interference with shipping.  Since this is a bay, there is no effect on shipping.

As far as landscape and visual impact, it comes down to the preference of each person.  You would have to put up a turbine and actually have people see it from different angles, distances, time of day, etc for people to really know how it looks.  Some people like them, some people don’t.  Some don’t like them just because they are something new and different.  Some folks like them because they are new and different. This field is totally subjective and can only be answered by a vote of each person that will be able to see it.

There is a Danish study that shows there is very little negative impact on the fish around a wind turbine farm of most species.  The wind farm actually increased some fish populations that used the rocks around the wind farm as well as the structures themselves for safety and protection.  This might provide more sport fishing to attract fishermen for the tourism trade.

There is much controversy on the placement of wind farms.  I have ready many articles about a minimum distance that is a standard set by groups, but I bet you never see a wind farm being placed that close to their residence.  Then you have a proposal for a farm out in the ocean that will have little impact on the majority of folks who will benefit from it, but if there is a powerful U.S. Senator who does not want to see it from his ‘castle’ at Hyannis Port Historic District, then it is likely that wind farm will never be built.