Date of Award
5-2010
Document Type
Capstone
Degree Name
M.S.
Keywords
Geographic Information System, Harvesting wind energy, Energy generated
Department
Geography
First Advisor
Heather Hicks
Second Advisor
Steven R. Hick
Abstract
This project focuses on Boulder County, Colorado as a case study to demonstrate how a Geographic Information System (GIS) can identify potential wind harvesting areas. A step by step demonstration will illustrate the steps needed to determine such harvesting areas and their wind potential. Once potential wind harvesting areas have been identified, concluding analysis will determine the amount of energy generated in efforts to offset current energy use. Harvesting wind has dated back to the 7th century and is looked at as a mature technology (Edwards 2003). Over the past few decades, public attitudes towards wind harvesting is becoming increasingly popular in efforts to become more sustainable. Boulder County's unique terrain and complex weather patterns creates a challenging case study to determine optimum locations to harvest wind. The results of this analysis will help to determine whether harvesting wind energy will in fact help offset the County's energy needs in efforts to becoming a more sustainable county.
Recommended Citation
Coventry, Pete, "Using GIS to Determine Wind Harvesting Potential to Help Offset Boulder County's Yearly Energy Usage to Become a More Sustainable County" (2010). Geography and the Environment: Graduate Student Capstones. 3.
https://digitalcommons.du.edu/geog_ms_capstone/3
Comments
Copyright is held by the author.