Developing the wind farm location criteria (WFLC):

Methodology

1. Developing the wind farm location criteria (WFLC):

The developed siting areas were based on the data collected from the questionnaires which are to comply with the guidelines used globally. The following are the constraint factors included in the WFLC:

• Topography
• Wind speed and direction
• Land use/cover
• Population
• Access
• Hydrology
• Ecology
• Resources

The criteria that correspond to the constraint factors are mainly physical, planning, economic, environmental or resource considerations as shown in Table 1 below.

Table 1

Wind farm location constraints criteria

2. Criteria Justification

For constraints 1, 2, 3, and 4, the justification for them is that the wind farms need to be located on suitably elevated sites, avoiding summits, and facing the prevailing wind conditions in the UK. The average wind speed on the sites should also be able to economically viable energy. The Questionnaires indicated that the wind speed threshold is set at about 5 km/h. Constraint 5 accounts for the effect that vegetation in close proximity affects wind speed and direction of flow. Farms can only be located 500 m away from the closest large stand of trees. Constraint 6 looks at the project from a planning viewpoint due the social implications that are brought about by wind farms such as noise pollution, safety and aesthetics. Therefore constraint 6 dictates that wind farms should be located at least 2 km away from urban centers. Constraint 7 addresses the issue of the shadow flicker effect and noise pollution which dictates that a wind farm should be at least 500 m away from any single dwellings. Constraint 8 considers access and minimization of development costs in that the site should be located close to the main road but at a safe distance from it so as to avoid visual intrusion. Constraint 9 accounts for the cost factor which determines a maximum distance of 10 km from the national grid. Constraints 10 and 11 protect water bodies and land that has ecological/special scientific interest value. Constraints 12 and 13 preserve cultural heritage by protecting the areas and sites that are of historic importance. Since they are normally small in nature, safe distance was included to prevent any development in these areas. Constraint 14 protects resources and agricultural value.