Our GIS team has successfully conducted site identification for multiple clients, specialising in identifying new wind and solar farm sites for developers. The team maintains up-to-date constraints data and applies industry standard parameters to these datasets to produce trustworthy sites. Beyond wind and solar experience, these site search methodologies can also be applied intelligently to various other projects and sectors.
One of the main challenges when conducting a wind site search is an awareness of where other developers are working. We benefit from holding a well-maintained confidential spatial dataset that allows this information to be recorded and informs us from our desks which areas of the country should be avoided. Other challenges include finding and planning suitable grid connections, access routes, suitable wind policy areas and ensuring sites sit far enough away from environmental and ecological designations.
Solar site search presents slightly different challenges, with more viable areas nationwide. Distance from the grid is again a challenge, and for construction purposes, the team needs to search for flat ground primarily with a suitable slope aspect. Other challenges tend to arise later in the process for solar, for instance, in acquiring land where landowners need convincing to make substantial changes to their income, the effects of capital gains tax and the fact that solar farms would only tend to suit some farmers and not others. We work closely with our land agents and clients to work around these challenges with landowners.
These obstacles listed above tend to be industry-wide however, with accurate and up-to-date GIS data at our fingertips, this can help us to avoid these challenges early on in projects.
By leveraging advanced geospatial techniques, we can assist you in identifying optimal locations for various purposes.
Whether you are seeking the perfect site for a retail store, a renewable energy development, or a new housing development, our team will perform rigorous analyses, and consider proximity to resources, development constraints, land zoning, demographic patterns, and accessibility, to guide you towards the most advantageous choices.
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