Spatial Modeling of Optimum Zones for Wind Farms Using Remote Sensing and Geographic Information System, Application in the Red Sea, Egypt

Abstract

Wind power is a safe form of renewable energy and is one of the most promising alternative energy sources. Worldwide, the wind power industry has been rapidly growing recently. It is crucial that the locating of new projects must address both environmental and social concerns. The Red Sea shoreline in Egypt provides excellent wind power potential sites for the Red Sea Governorate. In this study, appropriate zones for wind power farms were mapped using remotely sensed data and a GIS-based model namely Spatial Multi-Criteria Evaluation (SMCE). This model incorporated several criteria, two sets of factors and a set of constraints. First, resource factors included wind speed, elevation zones used to derive the wind power density. Second, economic factors included distances from urban areas, roads and power-lines. Third, land constraints were excluded from the evaluation.