Desarrollo de una metodología basada en tecnologías de la información, para la valoración del impacto visual causado por instalaciones de energía renovable sobre el territorio y el paisaje en el entorno de sitios de patrimonio cultural

Abstract

The use of renewable resources for electricity generation is promoted by governments due to its advantages, greater environmental awareness and the need for energy independence. At the same time, a greater social awareness of the landscape and the right to enjoy decent landscapes has emerged once trivial landscapes have replaced valuable landscapes and frames built from the past. This relationship between renewable energy and the landscape causes, sometimes, conflicts by the visual impact generated by these facilities –especially wind and solar–. Given the need to reduce energy dependence on fossil fuels, it seems logical to bet on this type of facility, but also ensure its location in sites that are respectful of the new landscape awareness. To avoid these conflicts, proper landscape management must be carried out under the terms of the European Landscape Convention. For this, an effective methodology must be available to assess the visual impact generated by these installations on the landscape. This research proposes a mixed methodology –quantitative and qualitative– of general application, based on geographic information systems (GIS), for the assessment of the visual impact caused by renewable energy (RE) installations - wind and solar - in the territory and landscape in the cultural heritage sites setting. Through GIS mapping, visibility studies of the RE facilities and the cultural heritage site are carried out. The visual quality of the landscape is valued through the cultural importance of the cultural heritage site from each sensitive points (ZCPO), previously calculated. Visual fragility is assessed based on visibility - such as the product of the magnitude of the installation, its visual incidence and its total visual contrast -, accessibility and distance between the RE facility and the cultural heritage site. With these data, the partial visual impact from each ZCPO is calculated and the result is weighted using the “E” parameter of public opinion, which is obtained from a previa survey carried out in the affected populations. Finally, the total visual impact is calculated by averaging all partial visual impacts from each ZCPO weighted according to “E”.