Land Use Considerations and Siting Assessment for Renewable Energy Facilities

摘要OISE-0832751乔纳森迈尔斯，詹姆斯麦迪逊U。这个奖项是作为OISE的一部分？的NSF国际规划访问计划，并将支持詹姆斯麦迪逊大学（JMU）的教师团队的两次旅行，以满足他们的同行在马耳他大学（UM）在马耳他的规划和启动跨学科的，合作研究项目的目的？可再生能源设施的土地利用考虑和选址评估。 (The术语？选址？在可再生能源行业中，用于表示识别、评估和选择可再生能源系统的最佳位置的过程，目的是最大限度地减少对供水和其他资源的影响。 考虑到两国在大型可再生能源项目选址方面存在的挑战以及跨学科和跨国研究团队开发适当工具和战略的机会，这一重点尤其及时，可以进一步广泛了解如何优化可再生能源网站。 拟议的访问将使JMU和UM教职员工组成的多元化团队能够在马耳他参与一项结构化的研究准备计划，而通过远程方式很难进行该计划。 特别是，这些访问将需要深入讨论，以概述和组织合作研究项目，确定和评估UM校园的适当资源，并访问马耳他各地的网站，其中部分研究项目将进行。并提供了一种量化手段来评估可再生设施的地点是否合适，本质上是跨学科的，必须考虑到（一）对农业、水质、沿海和海洋环境及其他自然资源的影响;（二）通过排放抵消对空气质量的好处;（三）能源组合的多样化;（iv）经济影响和社会公正问题;（vi）法律的考虑和限制。更广泛的影响这个项目将提供动力，以支持JMU和UM之间的合作研究工作，随后将通知一个新的案例研究源源不断，也提供了两个合作机构之间的世界级，跨学科，合作研究发展的特殊机会。 该项目的一个重要组成部分和所有未来的合作包括为学生提供国际研究培训，包括研究生和本科生。

AbstractOISE-0832751Jonathan Miles, James Madison U.This award is made as part of OISE?s NSF International Planning Visit program and will support travel on two occasions of a team of faculty members from James Madison University (JMU) to meet with their counterparts at the University of Malta (UM) in Malta for the purpose of planning and initiating an interdisciplinary, collaborative research project on ?Land Use Considerations and Siting Assessment for Renewable Energy Facilities.? (The term ?siting? is used within the renewable energy industry to denote the process of identifying, evaluation, and selecting the best locations for renewable energy systems with the intention of minimizing impacts to water supply and other resources.) This focus is especially timely given the challenges that exist in both nations with respect to siting of large-scale renewable energy projects and the opportunity for an interdisciplinary and trans-national research team to develop appropriate tools and strategies that could further a broad understanding how to optimize renewable energy sites. The visits proposed will enable a diverse team of JMU and UM faculty members to engage, in Malta, in a structured program of research preparation that would be difficult to undertake by remote means. In particular, these visits will entail in depth discussions for the purpose of outlining and organizing the collaborative research project, to identify and assess the appropriate resources on the UM campus, and to visit the sites throughout Malta, where parts of the research project will be conducted.INTELLECTUAL MERITThis project will lead to development of a tool that considers land use issues and constraints, and provides a quantitative means to assess the suitability of sites for renewable facilities, is inherently interdisciplinary and must factor (i) impacts on agriculture, water quality, the coastal and marine environments and other natural resources; (ii) benefits to air quality by virtue of emission offsets; (iii) diversification of the energy portfolio; (iv) economic impacts and social justice concerns; and (vi) legal considerations and constraints.BROADER IMPACTSThis project will provide the motivation to support collaborative research efforts between JMU and UM that will subsequently inform a steady stream of new case studies, and also provide exceptional opportunities for world-class, interdisciplinary, collaborative research between the two partnered institutions to develop. A strong component of this project and all future collaboration includes international research training for students, both graduate and undergraduate.