GIS, Territory, and Landscape in Renewable Energy Management in Spain

Abstract

Geographical information systems (GIS) must play an important role in the development of a new model for the rational and integrated planning of renewable energies. They can also facilitate the decision-making process from a territorial and landscape perspective. The importance of GIS has increased in recent years with the development and implementation of the INSPIRE Directive in Europe, which has led to substantial improvements regarding access to and dissemination of geographical information, and has permitted the creation of new indicators and methodologies for the management of this type of energy. Despite GIS being one of the most powerful tools in any planning process, its successful use requires the prior definition of a referential conceptual framework for each territory and of the scale at which the analysis will be performed. The purpose of this work is to perform a comparative analysis of various different experiences of wind power planning at different scales using GIS in Spain, a country in which this type of energy has been widely deployed, focusing particularly on the methodologies applied and on the main problems preventing effective use of this tool. We also describe two experiences of planning using GIS in Andalusia (Southern Spain), in which access to and dissemination of geographical information was improved, enhancing public participation in the planning process and optimizing its management.