Technical Note Developing and applying a GIS-assisted approach to evaluate visual impact in wind farms José Molina-Ruiz a, * , María José Martínez-Sánchez b , Carmen Pérez-Sirvent b , Mari Luz Tudela-Serrano a , Mari Luz García Lorenzo b a Department of Physical Geography, Human Geography and Regional Geographical Analysis, University of Murcia, 30001 Murcia, Spain b Department of Agricultural Chemistry, Geology and Pedology, University of Murcia, 30100 Murcia, Spain article info Article history: Received 6 November 2009 Accepted 27 August 2010 Keywords: Environmental impact Visual absorption capacity Visual impact Wind farms abstract Wind energy represents one of the most important renewable resources. Wind energy is a clean, renewable and its benefits are considered greater than the disadvantages. However, even though wind farms represent environmentally friendly projects, they frequently generate public resistance. One of the main disadvantages of wind farm construction projects is their poor aesthetic integration into the landscape. On the other hand, landscape impact of wind farms could be minimised if the visual impact is previously evaluated. As regards with the European legislation, the procedure of environmental impact assessment study is necessary before a wind farm project could be established. In contrast, there is not an objective meth- odology to assess the visual impact of wind farms. The aim of this work was to develop a methodology to predict and evaluate, before its construction, the visual impact of wind farms, taking into account the visualscape from different observation points. Proposed methodology could help to determine and evaluate the best location for new wind farm projects. Moreover, this method could be used as a consulting tool for public organization and private institutions, being quick, concise and clear. Ó 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Economic development has been based on access to readily available sources of energy, which are often damaging to the environment. As a result of the negative impact of traditional power-generating methods, the demand for more environmentally friendly renewable energy is growing [1]. The last few decades have been characterised by growing concern about the environment. As a result, renewable energies, and specially wind energy, have received a big impulse [2]. More- over, renewable energy sources have a large potential to contribute to the sustainable development of specific territories by providing them with a wide variety of socioeconomic benefits, including diversification of energy supply, enhanced regional and rural development opportunities, creation of a local industry and employement opportunities [3]. In its Book on Renewable Energies, the European Union set a target for member states to raise the fraction of electricity consumption derived from renewable sources from 6% in 1995 to 12% by 2010 [4]. Among all renewable energies, in Europe, wind power remains dominant, representing 75% of the total installed renewable capacity in 2006 (excluding electricity from large hydropower plants and from biomass). The strongest growth took place in Germany, Spain and Denmark [5]. At the moment, this kind of energy represents about 7% of the electricity generated in Spain [6]. However, Spain has a high wind energy potential, due not only to excellent wind resources but also to the high level of technological development which has occurred. Wind energy usually has less environmental impact than fossil fuel, and even if this energy has a green image, it is not difficult to find unfavourable positions regarding the installation of wind farms [7]. Opposition is based on a combination of aesthetic, bird- kill, noise and flicker concerns but in general the loudest voices are those arguing for protection of the scenic qualities of land- scape [8]. There are specific rules for the installation of wind farms in Spain, but these rules take into account mainly the conservation of the environment and generated noise. There is a national noise law, but there are no specific norms for regulating visual impact, even if visual impact is a very important issue when wind farm projects are placed. * Corresponding author. Tel./fax: þ34 968459440. E-mail address: jmolinar@um.es (J. Molina-Ruiz). Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Renewable Energy journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/renene 0960-1481/$ e see front matter Ó 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.renene.2010.08.041 Renewable Energy 36 (2011) 1125e1132