Evaluation of The Wind Energy Potential of Thailand considering its Environmental and Social Impacts using Geographic Information Systems

Abstract

Some areas of Thailand do not allow the installation of wind turbines or require further investigation of the impacts before installation. These areas can be divided into 3 classes with 21 criteria, including residential communities. This article presents an analysis of Thailand’s wind energy potential and identifies suitable areas for wind turbine installation that minimize the environmental and social impacts on nearby communities during operation, in line with policy targets. In this study, we evaluated the possibility of reducing the environmental and social impacts of wind energy development projects in 4 case studies using geographic information system analysis. We used two different formulas to evaluate the wind power potential and create wind resource map for use as a guideline to select suitable areas for wind turbine installation that reduced the negative impacts of future projects on the community. This model removed the risk from the most sensitive areas and included the moderately sensitive rural resident community area. This area is the most affected by the wind turbine project. The suitable areas provide sites for wind turbine installation located in the northeast, including the appropriate wind speed potential.