Samantha Weaver
11/11/11
UEP 232: Intro to GIS
Assignment 6: Project Description and Data Documentation
Project Summary:
Broadly, I plan to spatially examine the feasibility of non-fossil fuel derived base-load power in Montana.
Specifically, I will conduct a suitability analysis for geothermal facility siting in Montana. Geothermal
energy is a source of base-load power, and thus could be a viable alternative to coal generation in the
state. Montana’s primary source of electricity is currently coal.
The goal of this project is to examine suitability for geothermal facility siting in the context of factors
beyond resource availability. Because the availability of geothermal energy does not always imply its
accessibility, additional spatial analysis of factors such as land use, transmission line locations, and
electricity demand centers is necessary. Data layers that I will use for this analysis include geothermal
resource potential, transmission line locations, topography, road access, protected wilderness areas and
areas of environmental concern, and flood plain locations.
Spatial questions relevant to the topic and their significance:
1) Where are geothermal resources available in Montana? This question is basic, but still
important. I need to know where geothermal resources exist in order to evaluate their
suitability for development.
2) Beyond resource availability, what spatial criteria should be used to evaluate land suitability for
geothermal siting? This question is significant because it is not enough to know whether or not
a renewable resource is available. More information is required to paint a complete picture of
whether the resource can (or should) realistically be developed. Since renewable resource
potential is inherently place-based, it follows that the additional siting suitability evaluation
criteria should also be place-based.
Preliminary Project Methodology and Data Sources
I intend to overlay the data sets listed above and use the ‘select by’ functions and Boolean operators in
ArcGIS to find locations where both transmission lines and high geothermal potential exists, where the
slope of land is low, access roads are within a few miles, and where the area is not in a protected
wilderness location or a flood plain. Potential data layers to use in this analysis are included here1:
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Website1, Website2, Website3-6
Journal references:
1. Arnette, Andrew N. and Zobel, Christopher W. (2011.) “Spatial analysis of renewable energy
potential in the greater southern Appalachian mountains.” Renewable Energy, 36(2011): 2785-2798.
This is a very interesting spatial analysis of the suitability of renewable energy resources with
primary concern for the potential for co-firing biomass in existing coal plants. Biomass facilities were
evaluated based on their proximity to coal-fired power plants. Some notes on the authors’
methodology include the following: “The centroid of each county is calculated in ArcMap, which can
then be used to provide an estimate of distances between the biomass resources and the coal plants
at which the sources can be co-fired. This estimate of distance is sufficient as more detailed location
information for the biomass sources is not known.” In the event that I cannot find good geothermal
data as my project progresses, it may be interesting to apply this paper’s methodology instead.
2. Griffith, Jerry A., Trettin, Carl C., and Robert V. O’Neill. (2002.) “A Landscape Ecology Approach to
Assessing Development Impacts in the Tropics: A Geothermal Energy Example in Hawaii.” Singapore
Journal of Tropical Geography, 23(1), 2002, 1-22
This paper provides an analysis of environmental impacts of geothermal development, and helped
me understand that the impact on local terrain and ecology may be another important factor for
determining geothermal site suitability. The study notes that 0.4 hectares would be required for
geothermal well drilling, and access roads may need to be developed to the site. The authors
overlaid development scenarios onto vegetation data and developed a metric to determine overall
environmental impact of a hypothetical geothermal project.
3. Janke, Jason R. (2010.) “Multicriteria GIS modeling of wind and solar farms in Colorado.” Renewable
Energy, 35(10): 2228-2234.
This article helped me better understand the kind of criteria included in a suitability analysis, in
addition to resource availability. It also made me think that I should find a geothermal-specific
suitability study, since different technologies seem to require slightly different suitability criteria
(e.g. land cover for solar). This author, like several others, examines multiple criteria in order to
evaluate sites for suitability (for wind development). Janke looks at landcover, population density,
federal lands, distance to roads (for ease of project construction), transmission lines, and cities. The
author weights the criteria based on their importance to one another. Resource potential and
distance to transmission lines were weighted the highest.
4. Noorollahi Younes, Itoi, Ryuichi, Hikari Fujii and Toshiaki Tanaka “GIS Integration Model for
Geothermal Exploration and Well Siting.” Geothermics, 37(2008): 107-131
The authors of this paper conducted an environmental suitability analysis for geothermal
development using GIS. The factors the authors evaluated were topography, vegetation cover and
density, land use, and surface water drainage. This paper helped me understand more about
geothermal technology-specific site suitability. For example, topography is an important factor in
geothermal development because sloping terrain would need to be leveled in order to build the
geothermal well. Since this would cause adverse environmental impacts, it’s better to select level
terrain for geothermal development.
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5. Tegou, Leda-Ioanna, Heracles Polatidis, and Dias A. Haralambopoulos. (2010.) “Environmental
management framework for wind farm siting: Methodology and case study.” Journal of
Environmental Management, 91(11): 2134-2147.
This paper helped me think about what criteria to use in site evaluation for geothermal energy
facilities. The authors examined “wind power potential, land cover type, electricity demand, visual
impact, land value, and distance from the electricity grid.” In general, these factors do not differ
greatly from factors considered in other papers on the topic.
6. Vajjhala, Shalini P. and Fischbeck, Paul S. (2006.) “Quantifying Siting Difficulty: A Case Study in
Transmission Line Siting.” Resources for the Future Discussion Paper. (not peer-reviewed)
The authors assess renewable energy site suitability based in part on transmission siting difficulty.
This paper outlines a methodology for quantifying transmission siting difficulty based on “a
geographic indicator based on the distances separating generation capacity from demand load
centers; a construction indicator based on differences in transmission additions relative to
generation capacity construction, net generation, and sales; and a perception indicator based on a
survey of industry experts.” (p.6) I would like to apply parts of this methodology to assessing
geothermal site suitability in Montana.
7. Van der Horst, Dan. (2007.) “NIMBY or not? Exploring the relevance of location and the politics of
voiced opinions in renewable energy siting controversies.” Energy Policy, 35(5):2705-2714
In this article, the author describes a pattern whereby residents of “stigmatized communities” are
more likely to welcome a project described as “green”. The paper helped me think about a spatial
factor that none of the others I’ve read thus far included in their suitability assessment: potential for
public opposition, based on the type of community in which the project is proposed.
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