Quantifying Siting Difficulty: A Case Study of U.S. Transmission Line Siting

The worldwide demand for new energy infrastructures has been paralleled in recent years by the increasing difficulty of siting major facilities. Siting difficulty is the subject of widespread discussion, but because of the complexity of the problem, potential solutions are not obvious or well understood. This paper presents a two-step policy-level framework that first develops an empirical measure of siting difficulty and then quantitatively assesses its major causes. The approach is based on the creation and aggregation of four siting indicators that are independent of the common causes and localized effects of siting problems. The proposed framework is demonstrated for the case of U.S. transmission line siting. Results of the analyses reveal significant variations in state siting difficulty and industry experts’ perceptions of its dominant causes, with implications for the long-term success of Regional Transmission Organizations (RTOs) and knowledge transfer among siting professionals in the deregulated industry.electric transmission lines, facilities siting, public opposition, Regional Transmission Organizations (RTOs), siting difficulty

Siting Issues for Solar Thermal Power Plants with Small Community Applications

Technologies for solar thermal plants are being developed to provide energy alternatives for the future. Implementation of these plants requires consideration of siting issues as well as power system technology. While many conventional siting considerations are applicable, there is also a set of unique siting issues for solar thermal plants. Early experimental plants will have special siting considerations. The siting issues associated with small, dispersed solar thermal power plants in the 1 to 10 MWe power range for utility/small community applications are considered. Some specific requirements refer to the first 1 MWe engineering experiment for the Small Power Systems Applications (SPSA) Project. The siting issues themselves are discussed in three categories: (1) system resource requirements, (2) environmental effects on the system, and (3) potential impact of the plant on the environment. Within these categories, specific issues are discussed in a qualitative manner. Examples of limiting factors for some issues are taken from studies of other solar systems

Could social media improve New Save Supermarket’s Asian market segment?

Social media has become a part of people’s daily life. It is a multi-functional tool for people, who use social media to communicate with others, share content, and consume information in real time. Social media can be used not only by ordinary people but is also a useful marketing tool for businesses, according to previous research. New Save Supermarket is in the city centre, Hamilton. It is the oldest of Hamilton’s large-scale Asian grocery shops. The Asian community is New Save’s target market. This research is to investigate the possibility of using social media to attract more Asian consumers to shop at New Save. In this research, online questionnaires are used to collect data and the thoughts of the customers. The findings of this study indicate that WeChat and Facebook are the primary social media platforms that most customers use. Currently, there are few customers who know of and follow New Save’s WeChat account and Facebook page. Respondents think New Save’s social media do not convey enough information or update regularly enough. They agree that social media advertisements will attract regular shopping. This research suggests that New Save should create a strong social media presence, posting more and useful information for customers, updating regularly, and interacting with customers via social media

State Power Plant Siting: a Sketch of the Main Features of a Possible Approach

Work on various phases of power plant technology and siting has been underway within the Environmental Quality Laboratory (EQL) at the California Institute of Technology for some time. Of particular relevance to this memorandum, a good deal of effort has been devoted to institutional aspects of the siting process. Our purpose in what follows is to draw from our past work -- and from the discussions and work of others -- a sketch of the major outlines of one possible approach to power plant siting for the state. We hope in doing so to give our present views about the issues and how they might rationally be resolved, not so much to convince as to inform, stimulate fruitful ideas, and help provide the basis for constructive debate. We ourselves are not necessarily wedded to any of the discussion that follows; we find our own minds changing from time to time as we study the problem further or confront sound suggestions from others. Part I of this memorandum briefly outlines the major features of what we see as a fruitful approach to the siting problem. Sections A through E of Part I describe some elements of the approach; Section F sketches the actual siting decision process we suggest, and in doing so shows how the elements play into the process. Section G comments briefly on a suggested role for judicial review. In Part II we attempt to reduce our ideas to a fairly precise outline for a state siting statute, and to deal with certain matters of detail not covered in Part I. Section A of Part II introduces the statutory outline by summarizing each of its provisions; Section B sets forth the outline itself. The Appendix to this memorandum depicts our suggested approach in time-line fashion; it should be helpful in reading and understanding the proposal

An evaluation of the land and material requirements for the satellite power system

Current research and evaluation of the physical resources requirements for the Satellite Power System (SPS) concentrates on three topics: land requirements and the siting of rectennas; the environmental impacts of the rectenna siting; and the materials requirements. The first two focus exclusively on the Earth based element of the SPS while the materials assessment considered requirements for both the space and Earth systems

Wind turbine siting: A summary of the state of the art

The process of siting large wind turbines may be divided into two broad steps: site selection, and site evaluation. Site selection is the process of locating windy sites where wind energy development shows promise of economic viability. Site evaluation is the process of determining in detail for a given site the economic potential of the site. The state of the art in the first aspect of siting, site selection is emphasized. Several techniques for assessing the wind resource were explored or developed in the Federal Wind Energy Program. Local topography and meteorology will determine which of the techniques should be used in locating potential sites. None of the techniques can do the job alone, none are foolproof, and all require considerable knowledge and experience to apply correctly. Therefore, efficient siting requires a strategy which is founded on broad based application of several techniques without relying solely on one narrow field of expertise

Safe Routes to School Leads to Greater Collaboration with Public Health and School Officials

This report demonstrates how Safe Routes to School is a collaborative effort involving multiple organizations, including state Departments of Education and state Departments of Public Health. Additionally, the report addresses how school siting decisions at the state and local levels affect opportunities to walk and bicycle to schools, which in turn affects opportunities for physical activity. The four case studies showcase examples of collaboration between public health and school officials at the state level through Safe Routes to School Advisory Committees, school siting guidelines, state standards for physical activity or wellness policies and more. California, Massachusetts, Mississippi and Oklahoma are featured

Can an Economic Approach Solve the High-Level Nuclear Waste Problem

Building on the work of Professors O\u27Hare and Kunreuther, Dr. Inhaber proposes and argues for a non-coercive siting strategy that he calls a reverse Dutch auction

Lindahl prices solve the NIMBY problem

The siting of public facilities such as prisons or waste disposal facilities typically faces rejection by local populations (the "NIMBY" syndrome, for Not In My BackYard). These public goods exhibit a private bad aspect creating an asymmetry: all involved communities benefit from their existence, but only the host bears the local negative externality. We show that the well-known Lindahl pricing scheme constitutes the only cost-sharing method satisfying a set of properties specifically designed to handle the siting problem.Public Goods; Externalities; NIMBY; Location; Cost sharing.