Improving site assessment tools in emerging technologies: The case of highway vertical-axis wind turbines in the United States

Abstract

Despite the benefits of renewable energy—including mitigation of climate change, emission-free electricity generation, and public health benefits—technology siting is plagued by social, political, and cultural challenges. These non-technical challenges often remain outside the scope and responsibility of engineers’ assessments. This study uses early-stage stakeholder engagement to examine the non-technical barriers to siting of vertical axis wind turbines (VAWTs) along traffic corridors throughout the United States. Stakeholder feedback is analyzed in terms of Niklas Luhmann's social system theory via the Socio-Political Evaluation of Energy Deployment (SPEED) framework to assess broader, system-wide feasibility. By identifying points of resonance—situations in which the logics of different systems overlap, allowing interaction—the knowledge and capacities of different stakeholder groups can support development of new technologies. This method of stakeholder engagement occurs at earlier stages of project development and includes larger socio-political scales than typical site-level analysis. Stakeholder feedback—from a variety of fields, including engineering, transportation, project management, and law—is incorporated into a multi-criteria and analytic hierarchy tool to aid in turbine siting. This paper argues that early stakeholder engagement beyond a strictly technical focus creates a more robust account of project feasibility, shown through the potential for right-of-way VAWT arrays.