Environmental factors in the siting of wind turbines

SYNOPSIS This paper examines Danish considerations and experience. Localization—the indication of the exact location—has a decisive influence on the profitability of a wind turbine project. By means of the Wind Atlas the annual energy production from a given turbine at a given site can be estimated. In siting, a number of conflicting interests must be weighed against each other. For the large-scale production of electricity, wind farms are required. In Denmark a national localization survey for wind farms producing 4 TWh/year was carried out. The study delimitates 28 areas within which the first 250 wind turbines, each rated at 2.5 MW, can produce 2 TWh/year. The possibility of offshore siting has been investigated as well as the attitudes of the local politicians and the citizens towards a wind farm. The marketing of larger and cheaper wind turbines makes the inclusion of wind energy in physical planning difficult.