| dc.description.translatedabstract | The evergrowing demand in energy consumption on a global level, and the common use of conventional fuels, have lead gradually both to the depletion of non renewable fossil resources and to multiple environmental problems. The alteration of the body chemistry in the earths‟ atmosphere, global warming and the climate change have caused serious concerns to the international community over the last decades, and have offered a strong motivation towards the pursue of sustainable development.
The development and exploitation of Renewable Energy Sources (R.E.S) is a basic parameter of the european strategic planning for sustainable development. RES constitute forms of energy that are exceptionally friendly towards the environment, and wind technology in particular poses a great challenge for researchers in the field of energy, all over the world. It is commonly accepted that the exploitation of wind energy contributes to the reduction of energy imports, and offers the perspective of energy independence and sufficiency to countries that are in shortage of fossil fuels.
The European Union has set the penetration of wind technology in the energy market as a priority, however the uncontrollable and without planning installation of wind farms can have serious consequences to the natural environment , can create conflicts of land uses and deteriorate the quality of life of the local population. These adverse effects can only be limited by careful spatial planning, so that public acceptance of the wind farms can be encouraged, the protection of the natural habitat of wildlife can be protected, and economic growth and secure energy supply can be achieved.
In Greece the Special Framework for Spatial Planning and Sustainable Development for RES (SFSPSD), provides the basic guidelines and legislative limitations for the appropriate sitting of wind farms. The SFSPSD sets a whole of spatial, environmental and technical criteria, establishing uniformity in the regulatory framework, allowing the development of sustainable RES sitting and their unproblematic integration to the environment, promoting social consensus, and contributing to the achievement of national and european goals and obligations .
This dissertation presents the forms of RES, analyses the meaning of Wind Energy, as well as its advantages and possible adverse effects on a financial, social and environmental level. Furthermore, the Greek legislation framework for wind farm spatial sitting is presented, and the case of wind farm sitting in the Prefecture of Arcadia in Southern Greece is examined. Arcadia presents benevolent wind potential, intense terrain and is generally considered to be an appropriate location for wind farms sitting.
This study concerning the region of Arcadia was based on the examination of criteria and rules set by the SFSPSD with the use of software of Geographic Information Systems (GIS). A GIS software was chosen as a useful tool for the collection, input, analysis and visualization of information regarding the geographic environment, with the purpose of
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detecting locations in the Prefecture of Arcadia that satisfy the requirements of the greek legislation as well as present substantial wind exposure. In order to further evaluate and prioritise the selected regions, so that the regions of sustainable sitting of wind parks could be determined, the method of multi-criteria analysis was used, which has been applied in several similar scientific studies worldwide. Finally the Bearing Capacity was calculated per Municipality.
The suggested methodology aims for the development of a versatile tool for the initial location of sustainable sitting regions, providing basic directions towards further research on the specific traits of topology and general conditions per area. Furthermore, it provides stimulus for research on a smaller scale, so that the requirements of sustainable development can be equally met, regarding economic growth, social prosperity and environmental responsibility in the promising sector of wind power exploitation. | el_GR |
