How can you determine if a new location is suitable for a renewable energy project?

For solar photovoltaic power plants, other available tools with detailed solar irradiation maps are: ? IRENA's Global Atlas ? PVsyst ? Solargis

Its key to consider local communities as one of the major stakeholders of any renewable projects. Community opinions towards the project may cause it to either become possible for it to materialize of to become a failure. We must not forget that most renewable projects require considerable area to be feasible and as such, a single project may affect multiple communities and involve different stakeholders. Also it is key to understand the effects of the project during its life cycle to assess if any phase may need to consider additional assessments with different local communities

It is important to look at historical data related to weather - temperature, wind speed, rainfall, etc. - and solar radiation, in addition to measurements on site.

In addition to resource availability, with growing challenges in finding suitable locations for renewable project development, understanding and assessing the terrain is a critical component. Continuing on the example of a solar project, with reduced availability of flat terrain analyzing the terrain of the location is often one of the critical considerations while choosing a location which will not only determine and influence energy assessments but also the capex associated with project development

Actually, I disagree with the notion that social acceptability is not required. Information is power, getting people in a given area informed and enlightened about the benefits of renewable energy resources, especially relating to reduction of carbon footprint, green house gases, noise pollution, and importantly, the ecological and environmental pollution, is very important. Renewable energy resources for generation of energy and improvement of energy access, even in remote location forms part of public discourse and empowerment. The cultural and traditional heritage, (which include land, and other things like trees, animals etc.) of the people in a given area should be considered. Thus, social acceptability is important.

Environmental impact assessments are usually not required for rooftop solar photovoltaic power plants (at least not stand-alone and as detailed as it would be the case for ground-mounted power plants). Building integration and visual impact may however be more important, depending on the regulation in place.

Environmental impact studies are must in addition to consultation with the local communities and stakeholders to address their concerns and expectation of a renewable energy project.

Environmental impact has also social negative impacts. So, the environmental impact assessment (EIA) should also consider them.

I remember in one of our projects in Jordan, we built a 7-meter-high structure on a farm to avoid any damage to the trees.That actually comes after several meetings to convince the client to make the system an agricultural solar system instead of a normal ground-mount system. In other words, the PV system should add value in terms of environmental impact. ?

To get payments form your solar project ( Grid connected) , the project should connect with net - billing regulations such as Saudi Arabia. In other countries like Jordan , you will find Net metering regulations, where you can keep your excess energy consumption to use it in the evening or when you have higher consumption. Like ( summer and winter) In the summer your system will generate more energy, and you can use that in the winter.

Where Grid Infrastructure is present, the available Capacity on the Grid must be thoroughly assessed to accommodate the renewable plant and in cases where constraints are identified then Grid strengthening options should be considered. The financial model of the project should also be re-run to confirm project viability with the added upstream strengthening scope of work.

Off grid using hybrid and modular power generation is suitable for villages in Indonesia. Still 12500 villages i.e 2500 villages no electricity.

Grid connection is the most important key parameter for renewable energy projects, especially in remote or rural areas for power transmission.

Creo que conocer el emplazamiento del proyecto y las situaciones de las subestaciones a las que verter la energía es fundamental. En el primer caso, hay que determinar si la situación de la instalación obliga a que las líneas de conexión pueden ser áreas o han de ser subterráneas, y en el segundo caso la distancia al punto de vertido es un punto relevante.

The economic viability is a major factor and it is worth noting that unless appropriate funding sources are used the project may fail to offer any return on investment at all. This can even be seen in small scale installations where clients borrow money at high interest rates to pay for the system and then struggle to make their return over the life of the system.

Economic viability is key a parameter in renewable energy projects selections to ensure good Return on Investment over the project term.

Economic viability is in many cases the main factor to decide the project to proceed. In large scale project, financial plan play a major role in project development. Considering interest rate, inflation, investment risk, it can sometime make the project economically not feasible to implement depending on the site, society and where the fundings come from.

Creo que es fundamental que se lleve a cabo un estudio en profundidad de este apartado, analizando, entre otros, los siguientes puntos: - Los ingresos esperados deben ser realistas, deben de considerarse escenarios en los que se apliquen posibles cambios de legislación. Es el caso de Espa?a, en el que a partir del a?o 2014 se limitaron las primas a las renovables, que propició que proyectos basados en ingresos con primas desproporcionadas resultasen inviables. - Los costes de construcción también deben de ser realistas y ajustarse a posibles fluctuaciones de mercado que puedan ocurrir debido a circunstancias ajenas al proyecto. Ejemplo: desabastecimiento tras confinamiento por COVID-19, guerra en Ucrania, etc

Inevitably, the success of climate and renewable energy technologies and measures largely depends on their social acceptance - thus, it is extremely important to have a clear insight into all the elements that influence public attitudes. The five major elements are: 1) The awareness of climate change and basic understanding of the renewable technology; 2) Fairness of the decision-making process, making sure all relevant stakeholders equally participate; 3) Overall evaluation of costs, risks and benefits, presented in an easily comprehendible manner, adjusted for the target audience; 5) Local context: both rational objections to projects and specific fears and emotions should be identified, discussed and dealt with.

There is no doubt that the social acceptance of a renewable energy project by the local community and the affected stakeholders is paramount to ensure the success and sustainability of the renewable energy project.

Otro punto relevante a tener en cuenta es la evaluación de los riesgos frente a causas relacionadas, entre otros, con: - Condiciones climatológica adversas del emplazamiento: vientos predominantes que puedan comprometer una posición determinada de los módulos en el campo solar. Tipología del cableado soterrado si es sumergible. - Terreno: la tipología del terreno en la situación de la instalación y su no adaptación para la obra unido a condiciones climatológicas pueden ser determinantes: Movimiento del terreno. Asimismo la existencia de matorral puede derivar que posibles averías eléctricas generen incendios que se propaguen por el campo solar. - Localización geografica: posibles intrusiones para la sustracción de componentes.

While the 6 items outlines are important in determining the location for a renewable energy project, one critical item that has been left out is land. The renewable energy resource may be available in an area, grid connectivity available, ESIA and Economic viability positive, issues of land availability, ownership and zoning will determine whether the project can be implemented or not. This is in a way but not entirely covered by the project social acceptance and must be considered among the first items in determining project feasibility. A large component of the project licencing and permitting process depends on land zoning and ownership including the type of holding, lease or freehold.

On some occasions, an alternative risk management approaches are typically necessary in order to provide a holistic risk management of large-scale projects (for example onshore and offshore wind parks), and diversification plays a major role in various dimensions - in particular, including the manufacturer, technology (wind and solar), geographic region (reduce weather / resource risk) and country (political and regulatory diversification).

Risk assessments should also consider site conditions, such as prior contamination, pre-existing easements or other legal rights or obligations (encumbrances). Mineral or water rights are a few examples of “prior rights” that may exist at a site that could have implications for project development or access.

Perhaps the most important aspect, before assessing all others refers to securing the property/leasing rights. I would add this as point number 1.

For hydrogen projects that are powered by renewable energy, a critical aspect is the location of the end-user. If the end-user is not co-located to the renewable energy plant and/or hydrogen production units, then additional costs should be considered for the "packing" of hydrogen as well as its transportation to the end-user site.

Depending on what your RE project is, assessing how required equipment's will be delivered to the location, cost associated, to set up the project, esp. where large bulky items need to be transported, wind turbines.

For Wind farms, it is also essential to ascertain that there are no plans for a green field airport over the economic life of equipment. There are height restrictions up to certain radius from airport. Location of airport too has requirements that are similar to some of renewable energy based plants.

Estimating GHG (greenhouse gas) emission reduction potentials of a RE project is also important to evaluate the project feasibility and attractiveness. When available, sell of the GHG emission reduction units will increase its revenues.