To estimate wind resources availability and quality, evaluate their consequences on land use and sea use, and assess the biodiversity risk, three main elements were developed:
1/ A wind power API, which considers the wind resources, wind farm boundaries, and user-supplied turbine specifications for any European region and provides the wind turbines’ locations to maximize the wind farm’s energy production
2/ A model and data reflecting land and sea use change. This covers the impact of 13,000 turbine locations across the continent, including a plugin for the assessment of individual new potential sites
3/ An assessment and data of a European-wide collision-mortality risk for birds and bats species
Additionally, the first version of an impact assessment on terrestrial and marine fauna at the WIMBY pilot regions was finalized, as well as a first LCA study, that provides an insight into existing and expected end-of-life treatments of wind turbines, foundation technologies for offshore installations, and correlations between material masses and rated power.
With regard to the assessment of the impact of onshore and offshore wind power on society in Europe, the following output was developed:
1/ A first version of novel open-source tools designed to assess the noise, shadow flicker, and safety impacts of wind turbines on the population in Europe
2/ A first version of a dataset on different landscape impact metrics which assists in estimating the landscape quality via the indicators naturalness, human impact, remoteness, and ruggedness
3/ A mapping of regulations, governance models, financing resources, and the potential for job creation in the wind power industry in Europe.
All these developed models and output provide high-resolution information for the spatial deployment of wind power projects and possible mitigation measures throughout Europe.
They have been integrated into the first version of the WIMBY Interactive Map, which is currently operational. A design approach with co-creation workshops was adopted to maximize consortium partners' and external stakeholders' engagement (through interviews, feedback sessions, and tests), and to make sure their needs could be integrated in the technical requirements of the map.
Additionally, an immersive 3D platform was developed to engage stakeholders and the local population in identifying trade-offs and social acceptance patterns for wind energy development. This platform utilizes a serious games approach, comprehensive interactive 3D visualizations, and VR glasses, and was positively evaluated during a first series of workshops in the WIMBY pilot region of Pantelleria.
During the upcoming workshops in the WIMBY pilot regions this 3D platform will be supplemented with an already developed MUSA survey, BASEline questionnaire, and debriefing questionnaire.
