Book Review: Scarcity and Growth Considering Oil and Energy: An Alternative Neo-Classical View, Critique of “Wind Power and the UK Wind Resource” By the Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford, An Electricity Supply Strategy for the UK: Report by the Council for Science and Technology

Wind turbine selection and optimal hub height positioning are crucial elements of wind power projects. However, in higher class wind speeds especially, over-exposure of wind turbines can lead to a reduction in power generation capacity. In this study, wind measurements from a met mast were validated according to specifications issued by IRENA and NREL. As a first step, it is shown that commercial WTGs from a database may be matched to the wind class and turbulence intensity. Secondly, a wind turbine selection algorithm, based on maximisation of capacity factor, was implemented across the range of WTGs. The selected WTGs were further exposed to an iterative algorithm using pointwise air density and wind shear coefficients. It is shown that a unique maximum capacity factor, and hence wind power generation, exists for a wind turbine, premised on its eventual over-exposure to the wind resource above a certain hub height.

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UNDERSTANDING PERCEPTIONS OF CHANGE: A PATHWAYS CONTRIBUTION TO COMMUNITY CONSULTATION AND ENVIRONMENTAL DECISION-MAKING

Journal of Environmental Assessment Policy and Management ◽

10.1142/s146433320400164x ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 06 (02) ◽

pp. 189-211 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

MARK LEMON ◽

PAUL JEFFREY ◽

BRIAN S. MCINTOSH ◽

TIM OXLEY

Keyword(s):

Environmental Change ◽

Relevant Information ◽

Clear Understanding ◽

Community Consultation ◽

The Public ◽

Environmental Decision Making ◽

Individual Perceptions ◽

Time Space ◽

The Uk

Participation has become part of the language of environmental management. While this move is positive there remains a danger that overly formalised and restricted participatory procedures, in terms of the information sought, may constrain and hinder dialogue and learning between the public and management agencies. Responses to specific issues are often sought from members of the public without a clear understanding about whether those issues are salient to them, where they are salient or how they fit into multiple and dynamic interpretations of environmental change. This paper uses case study material from the UK to demonstrate a novel Pathways Approach to the recording and analysis of individual perceptions about environmental change. The approach seeks to concentrate on experience and interpretation and is based on the conceptualisation of perceived cause–effect relationships and the pathways that support them. The links between time, space and community are considered within this analysis, as is the potential for improved participation through the provision of policy relevant information to planners and environmental managers operating in complex, multi-perspective situations.

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