To install the new turbine makes total sense - there is a lot of energy to be harnessed– but property owners in Franklin and Wrentham say it will ruin our beautiful views and destroy property values! In other words, “I'm all for clean energy, but not in my backyard!” The citizens of Franklin and Wrentham have started a committee called Citizens Opposed To (Wind) Turbines On (Mount) St. Mary (But) Otherwise Green or COTTOSOG and they have hired you to proof that this these turbines will indeed have a significant impact on their bucolic views.
Question: From where in Franklin and Wrentham would you see the new larger wind turbine for Mount St. Mary’s?
The map to the left above shows the potential degree of visibility of a 120 foot turbine, located on Mount Saint Mary's, in the towns of Franklin and Wrentham, Massachusetts, The DEM of this map is based upon bare earth, without taking into consideration any of the trees or other features that may block the visibility of the turbine. The areas in red represent the locations that can view the entire turbine. The areas in yellow represent the locations that can view 30 meters-up of the turbine. The areas in green represent the locations that can only see the platoons of the turbine. The areas in blue represent the locations that can barely see the turbine, but can still see parts of the top of it. Finally, the areas in white represent the locations that can not see any of the turbine.
The flaws of this map is that the land is not actually 'bare earth'. There are buildings, and trees that can cause a screening affect and block the view of the turbine. A more accurate map would take into consideration the findings of this bare earth model, as well as the findings of a forest screening model. The Pythagorean theorem could be used to confirm the findings of this analysis.
The table above shows the total amount of areas that can view the turbine at 30 meters, 60 meters, 90 meters, and 120 meters. Although the table breaks the values down to different height levels, it is not as accurate because the total includes any area that can view the turbine without taking into account the degree of which it is actually visible. Based on the heights, 26% of the towns can view the turbine at 30 meters; 35% of the town can view the turbine at 60 meters; 42% can view the turbine at 90 meters; and 48% can view the turbine at 120 meters.
The pie-chart above gives a more descriptive analysis of the areas that can view the turbine, based on the degree of visibility. More than half of the two towns (52%) can not see any of the 120 foot turbine. The second largest category is the areas that can see the entire turbine, with 26% of the two towns able to view the full turbine. 9% of the areas can view 30 meters-up of the turbine, 7% of the areas can only view the platoons of the turbine, and 6% of the areas can barely see the turbine at all.
The map to the right above shows the potential degree of visibility of a 120 foot turbine, located on Mount Saint Mary's, in the towns of Franklin and Wrentham, Massachusetts, The DEM of this map takes into account the heights of forest trees, which can act as a screen, blocking the view of the turbine. The areas in red represent the locations that can view the entire turbine. The areas in yellow represent the locations that can view 30 meters-up of the turbine. The areas in green represent the locations that can only see the platoons of the turbine. The areas in blue represent the locations that can barely see the turbine, but can still see parts of the top of it. Finally, the areas in white represent the locations that can not see any of the turbine. The forest landuse areas are represented with a light green color, and the forested wetland landuse areas are represented with a light purple color.
The flaws of this map is that the landuse data is represented as a solid block, rather than the actual form of a tree. Another flaw is that the heights of the trees were categorized as one average height (forested wetland-15 meters, and forest-25 meters) instead of actual different heights. A more accurate map would take into consideration the findings of this forest screening model, as well as the findings of a bare earth model. It would also account for the different heights of trees in the forest that may or may not actually block the view of the turbine. The Pythagorean theorem could be used to confirm the findings of this analysis.
The table above shows the total amount of areas that can view the turbine at 30 meters, 60 meters, 90 meters, and 120 meters, while taking into consideration the screening of forest trees. Although the table breaks the values down to different height levels, it is not as accurate because the total includes any area that can view the turbine without taking into account the degree of which it is actually visible. Based on the heights, 8% of the towns can view the turbine at 30 meters; 16% of the town can view the turbine at 60 meters; 21% can view the turbine at 90 meters; and 25% can view the turbine at 120 meters.
The bar graph above shows the degree of visibility of the 120 foot turbine, across bare earth compared to through a forest screening.
The flowchart above shows the step by step process of how to produce the map above on ArcMap 10.1.
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