Aesthetic impact assessment of solar power plants: An objective and a subjective approach

Torres-Sibille, Ana del Carmen; Cloquell-Ballester, Vicente-Agustín; Ballester, Victor Andres Cloquell; Ramírez, Miguel Ángel Artacho

doi:10.1016/j.rser.2008.03.012

Cited by 100 publications

(75 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…The main direct or indirectly derived advantages of solar energy are no emission of greenhouse or toxic gasses, reclamation of degraded land, reduction of transmission lines from electricity grids, and increase of regional/national energy independence. In addition, it can provide diversification and security of the energy supply, acceleration of rural electrification in developing countries, job opportunities, improvement of life quality in developing countries, and investment security for park development as solar panels are resistant to extreme climate conditions with a life expectancy greater than 35 years (Solangi et al, 2011;Tsoutsos et al, 2005;Torres-Sibille et al, 2009;Hernandez et al, 2014). However, conflicts can also arise between renewable energy and nature conservation policy.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, conflicts can also arise between renewable energy and nature conservation policy. The environmental impacts from photovoltaic power generation include general effects on visual impact, land use intensity, wildlife impacts, reflection effects, depletion of natural resources, and waste management (Torres-Sibille et al, 2009;Tsoutsos et al, 2005;Turney and Ftenakis, 2011). Although the number of direct animal deaths at solar parks, is thought to be negligible (Katzner et al, 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…(Tegou et al, 2010;Georgiou et al, 2012;Masera et al, 2006;Ramachandra and Shruthi, 2007). One of the most common GIS-based strategies that have been designed to facilitate decision making in site evaluation and land suitability is multi-criteria analysis (MCA) (Torres-Sibille et al, 2009). The analytic hierarchy process (AHP) method that introduced by Saaty (1980) is a flexible and easily implemented MCA technique and its use has been largely explored in the literature with many examples in locating facilities and land suitability analysis (Tegou et al, 2010;Kontos et al, 2005;Georgiou et al, 2012;Masera et al, 2006).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Optimal site selection for sitting a solar park using multi-criteria decision analysis and geographical information systems

Georgiou

Skarlatos

2016

Geosci. Instrum. Method. Data Syst.

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Abstract. Among the renewable power sources, solar power is rapidly becoming popular because it is inexhaustible, clean, and dependable. It has also become more efficient since the power conversion efficiency of photovoltaic solar cells has increased. Following these trends, solar power will become more affordable in years to come and considerable investments are to be expected. Despite the size of solar plants, the sitting procedure is a crucial factor for their efficiency and financial viability. Many aspects influence such a decision: legal, environmental, technical, and financial to name a few. This paper describes a general integrated framework to evaluate land suitability for the optimal placement of photovoltaic solar power plants, which is based on a combination of a geographic information system (GIS), remote sensing techniques, and multi-criteria decision-making methods.An application of the proposed framework for the Limassol district in Cyprus is further illustrated. The combination of a GIS and multi-criteria methods produces an excellent analysis tool that creates an extensive database of spatial and non-spatial data, which will be used to simplify problems as well as solve and promote the use of multiple criteria. A set of environmental, economic, social, and technical constrains, based on recent Cypriot legislation, European's Union policies, and expert advice, identifies the potential sites for solar park installation. The pairwise comparison method in the context of the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) is applied to estimate the criteria weights in order to establish their relative importance in site evaluation. In addition, four different methods to combine information layers and check their sensitivity were used. The first considered all the criteria as being equally important and assigned them equal weight, whereas the others grouped the criteria and graded them according to their objective perceived importance. The overall suitability of the study region for sitting solar parks is appraised through the summation rule.Strict application of the framework depicts 3.0 % of the study region scoring a best-suitability index for solar resource exploitation, hence minimizing the risk in a potential investment. However, using different weighting schemes for criteria, suitable areas may reach up to 83 % of the study region. The suggested methodological framework applied can be easily utilized by potential investors and renewable energy developers, through a front end web-based application with proper GUI for personalized weighting schemes.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Optimal site selection for sitting a solar park using multi-criteria decision analysis and geographical information systems

Georgiou

Skarlatos

2016

Geosci. Instrum. Method. Data Syst.

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“…In the literature [24] an indicator is proposed for the quantification of the objective aesthetic impact, based on four criteria: visibility, colour, factuality and concurrence between fixed and mobile panels. The relative importance of each variable and the corresponding value functions are calculated using expert contribution [25].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Strategic Orientation to Solar Energy Productionand Long Term Financial Benefits

Stevović¹

2017

AFST

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The strategy for developing and improving the application of green, clean, renewable and gratis solar energy is a challenge for multidisciplinary teams of scientists. Exquisite examples of positive world practice of the largest solar power plants are presented in this paper, with all the characteristics, starting from the materials of photovoltaic panels and technical performance to the cost and financial benefits. The aim was to analyze the development of solar technologies in the function of defining further perspectives. The techno economic feasibility of the strategic orientation towards solar energy has been demonstrated in the model of the solar power plant, carried out by experiment, profitability calculation and multi-criteria analysis. The conclusion is that long-term financial and holistic benefits can be achieved by investing in solar power plants.

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“…For solar energy installations [14], the aesthetic impacts of PV installations can be quantified based on four criteria: visibility, colour, fractality and concurrence between fixed and mobile panels. This study determined the overall impact by expert opinion through a Delphi procedure.…”

Section: Aesthetic Impactsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Local power and land use: spatial implications for local energy development

Boer

Hewitt²,

Bressers

et al. 2015

Energ Sustain Soc

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Background: The decentralised and private nature of small-scale renewable energy development does not fit traditional models of government planning and oversight. The land use impacts related to these developments are not well understood and data is lacking related to the environmental, social and economic impacts that can occur under various scenarios. Methods: This research note provides a literature review of the scarce information available about the spatial impacts of small-scale renewable energy and outlines the current stream of research being undertaken to address this knowledge gap. The preliminary case studies in Overijssel, the Netherlands and Navarre, Spain provide the background for understanding this complex issue, and a new integrated policy and land use model is introduced in order to combine qualitative and qualitative data that is important for understanding the dynamics of this growing field. Results: The main difficulties in moving forward in planning for the decentralised renewable energytransition are the variation of perspectives on the attractiveness and appropriateness of urban renewableenergy (RE) development, differences in implementation processes and incentives, the dynamic nature ofthe relevant technologies and the lack of up to date information on land use. Conclusions: Multi-functional land use is a key strategy for increasing the uptake of small-scale renewable energy but little to no data is available regarding it in European land use literature and policy. This needs to be addressed in order to enable pragmatic policies that will enable effective implementation of renewable energy.

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Aesthetic impact assessment of solar power plants: An objective and a subjective approach

Cited by 100 publications

References 19 publications

Optimal site selection for sitting a solar park using multi-criteria decision analysis and geographical information systems

Optimal site selection for sitting a solar park using multi-criteria decision analysis and geographical information systems

Strategic Orientation to Solar Energy Productionand Long Term Financial Benefits

Local power and land use: spatial implications for local energy development

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