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To link to full-text access for this article, visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2010.05.010 Byline: Leda-Ioanna Tegou, Heracles Polatidis, Dias A. Haralambopoulos Abstract: This paper develops an integrated framework to evaluate land suitability for wind farm siting that combines multi-criteria analysis (MCA) with geographical information systems (GIS); an application of the proposed framework for the island of Lesvos, Greece, is further illustrated. A set of environmental, economic, social, and technical constraints, based on recent Greek legislation, identifies the potential sites for wind power installation. Furthermore, the area under consideration is evaluated by a variety of criteria, such as wind power potential, land cover type, electricity demand, visual impact, land value, and distance from the electricity grid. The pair-wise 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. The overall suitability of the study region for wind farm siting is appraised through the weighted summation rule. Results showed that only a very small percentage of the total area of Lesvos could be suitable for wind farm installation, although favourable wind potential exists in many more areas of the island. Author Affiliation: Energy Management Laboratory, Department of Environment, University of the Aegean, Lesvos 81100, Greece Article History: Received 21 September 2009; Revised 14 April 2010; Accepted 14 May 2010

This paper reports on the feasibility study performed to investigate the possibilities of connecting the 640-MW off-shore wind power farm, planned for Kriegers Flak 30 km south of Trelleborg, to the E.ON 130-kV subtransmission system. The Kriegers Flak commissioning is planned for 2010. The aim of this study is to answer the question if such a connection is possible, and under what conditions; it is not meant as a design project. Following a general connection design discussion, the study comprises of three major parts: fault current calculations, load flow calculations, and dynamic simulations. The study shows that it is possible to connect such a large off-shore wind power farm to the 130-kV subtransmission system, but reinforcement concerning load currents during normal operation and fault currents have to be made. Index Terms--Grid code, grid wind power connection, grid wind power interaction, off-shore, wind power.

The wind speed data represented in the form of frequency curves show the shape of a potential model. The Weibull and Lognormal models are used for this purpose, with hourly mean wind speed data. This study deals with the estimation of the annual Weibull and Lognormal parameters from 20 locations in Navarre. The suitability of both distributions is judged from the [R.sup.2] coefficient with a linear regression for the Weibull distribution and a nonlinear regression for the Lognormal distribution. Both approaches give a good fit, giving better results for the Weibull distribution. A comparison between the estimation and the production for a wind farm is offered.

Byline: Rainer Walz Regulation is especially important for infrastructure systems (such as wind energy), which are characterised by a triple regulation challenge in the areas of R&D spillovers, environmental protection, and access to monopolistic bottlenecks. A heterodox approach is used to study the effects of regulation, which starts from a system of innovation and distinguishes different innovation functions. These functions are used as a bridge to incorporate the various paradigms of the effects of environmental and natural monopoly regulation explicitly into the analysis. Case studies for Germany and the USA show that despite an early start, the US innovation system has not worked sufficiently until now. In contrast, regulations in Germany provided for a high functionality of the innovation system wind power, which enabled Germany to catch up internationally. The importance of instrument design highlights that the analysis of the interaction between regulation and innovation must be performed on a rather detailed level.

A proposal for eight wind turbines and associated infrastructure at a site in the Lincolnshire fens has been approved following a careful assessment of the landscape impact against the need [...]

A case study is presented that attempts to trace the rise and fall of windfarm development in the states of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, India.