Figure 2 - uploaded by Robert Gerald Sullivan
Content may be subject to copyright.
Source publication
The advent of large-scale renewable energy development in the western United States requires the construction of new high-voltage electric transmission facilities to transport electricity from renewable energy generation facilities to load centers. Electric transmission facilities may cause substantial visual impacts to high-value scenic resources....
Similar publications
A series of wildland fires were ignited by lightning in sagebrush and grassland communities
near the Idaho-Nevada border southwest of Twin Falls, Idaho in July 2007. The fires burned for
over two weeks and encompassed more than 650,000 acres. A team of scientists, habitat specialists,
and land managers was called together by Tom Dyer, Idaho BLM Sta...
Citations
... This, combined with lower wind capacity, resulted in fewer people being in close proximity to renewable infrastructure (Fig. 6). In total, 9.5 to 12.5 million people in the western United States (roughly 12 to 15% of the current western population) could be living within 16 km of a wind plant, 3 km of a solar plant, 3 km of a new transmission line or expanded/upgraded corridor, or 1.6 km of a spur line (Fig. 6), distances within which high visual impacts have been reported (23)(24)(25)(26). ...
The scale and pace of energy infrastructure development required to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are unprecedented, yet our understanding of how to minimize its potential impacts on land and ocean use and natural resources is inadequate. Using high-resolution energy and land-use modeling, we developed spatially explicit scenarios for reaching an economy-wide net-zero GHG target in the western United States by 2050. We found that among net-zero policy cases that vary the rate of transportation and building electrification and use of fossil fuels, nuclear generation, and biomass, the “High Electrification” case, which utilizes electricity generation the most efficiently, had the lowest total land and ocean area requirements (84,000 to 105,000 km ² vs. 88,100 to 158,000 km ² across all other cases). Different levels of land and ocean use protections were applied to determine their effect on siting, environmental and social impacts, and energy costs. Meeting the net-zero target with stronger land and ocean use protections did not significantly alter the share of different energy generation technologies and only increased system costs by 3%, but decreased additional interstate transmission capacity by 20%. Yet, failure to avoid development in areas with high conservation value is likely to result in substantial habitat loss.
... A team of seven visual resource and three natural resource professionals conducted fieldwork from July 23 to 25, 2019 in order to evaluate draft National Park Service (NPS) procedures to evaluate visual impacts. This evaluation involved observing and assessing the visual effects of the SSCW project, including the visual prominence of the constructed project from eight viewpoints using the scale in Table 1, which is adapted from SULLIVAN et al. (2014). Visible only after extended, close viewing; otherwise not visible. ...
Current visual simulation guidelines for major developments in the UK recommend using base photographs taken with a 75 mm effective focal length (EFL). This recommendation is made in spite of the geometric laws of perspective. Nonetheless, there is some research comparing photographs to in-situ views supporting this guideline, though these studies do not attempt to explain why this enlargement is necessary. This paper compares the visual prominence of in-situ observations to judgement made viewing photosimulations and as-built photographs with 50 mm and 75 mm EFLs. Keywords: Simulation, visual impact assessment, landscape perception
... Replacement of existing overhead lines by cable lines will allow to eliminate the impact of severe climatic conditions and increase the operational reliability of these sections [17,29]. Moreover, cable lines have lower impact on the landscape and are more easily accepted by the public [49]. In the last two decades, there have also been significant changes in cable line technology. ...
The growing share of medium voltage cable lines in distribution networks challenges distribution network operators in terms of proper mode of operation of these lines. It is related to the reduction of energy losses in cable conductors and metallic cable screens. The article focuses on energy losses in metallic cable screens of cable lines and substation busbar bridges composed of single-core cables with metallic screens and possible ways of their reduction. Simulation and measurement analysis of the level of energy losses in the metallic screens of cables is presented together with the economic analysis of various variants of losses reduction through the change of the way these screens are operated in relation to the traditional bilateral earthing at both ends of cable. Technical problems and threats connected with the use of considered modifications of metallic screens operation during earth fault disturbances in distribution networks are also presented
... There have been two observational field studies to determine visual magnitude thresholds of electric transmission structures as a function of distance (Driscoll, Gray, Blair, & Ady, 1976;Sullivan et al., 2014). Their results were considered in combination with the principles used by Integral (2010) for determining the overall visual effects of a transmission line. ...
This article proposes a GIS-based model for visual impact assessment. Several indices to compare alternatives or sections of the project are presented. It is applied to the proposed Northern Pass Transmission Project, and validated using field observation of an existing transmission line and evaluation of simulations at key observation points.
... Recent years have seen the rapid development of energy facilities, especially utility-scale renewable energy projects and associated electric transmission lines, that, because of their size and unique visual characteristics, may cause significant scenic impacts Abplanalp, 2013, 2015;Sullivan et al., 2012aSullivan et al., ,b, 2013aSullivan et al., ,b, 2014. Some renewable energy projects and transmission lines have been built, or are proposed to be built, adjacent to or crossing national parks and national scenic and historic trails. ...
Several United States (US) federal agencies have developed visual resource inventory (VRI) and management systems that reflect specific agency missions and visual resource management objectives. These programs have varied in the degree to which they incorporate historic and cultural elements and values into the scenic inventory process. The recent nationwide expansion of renewable energy and associated transmission development is causing an increase in visual impacts on both scenic and historic/cultural resources. This increase has highlighted the need for better integration of visual and historic/cultural resource assessment and management activities for land use planning purposes. The US Department of the Interior National Park Service (NPS), in response to concerns arising from potential scenic impacts from renewable energy, electric transmission, and other types of development on lands and waters near NPS units, has developed a VRI process for high-value views both within and outside NPS unit boundaries. The NPS VRI incorporates historic and cultural elements and values into the scenic resource inventory process and provides practical guidance and metrics for successfully integrating historic and cultural concerns into the NPS’s scenic resource conservation efforts. This article describes the NPS VRI process and compares it with the VRI processes of the US Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management and the US Department of Agriculture Forest Service, with respect to the incorporation of historic and cultural values. The article discusses why a scenic inventory approach that more robustly integrates the historic and cultural values of the landscape is essential for NPS landscapes, and for fulfillment of NPS’s mission. Inventories are underway at many NPS units, and the results indicate that the VRI process can be used successfully to capture important historic and cultural resource information and incorporate that information into the assessment of the scenic values of views within and outside NPS units. Environmental Practice 18: 166–179 (2016) Available at: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/environmental-practice/article/environmental-reviews-and-case-studies-the-national-park-service-visual-resource-inventory-capturing-the-historic-and-cultural-values-of-scenic-views/8CA65DF0BF6B5FB66935C9971C1BEEA2
... Within the past decade, a variety of factors-including increased demand for energy, the need to update aging and increasingly inadequate energy transmission systems, desire for reduced dependence on foreign sources of energy, and a need to address climate change-have resulted in an expansion of energy-related infrastructure in the United States. While the expansion of energy infrastructure involves both fossil and renewable energy sources, the rapid development of utility-scale renewable energy projects and associated electric transmission lines is of special concern to NPS because the large size and unique visual characteristics of these facilities may cause significant scenic impacts on NPS park areas and other visually sensitive areas Abplanalp 2013, 2015;Sullivan et al. 2012aSullivan et al. , 2012bSullivan et al. , 2013aSullivan et al. , 2013bSullivan et al. , 2014. Some renewable energy projects and transmission lines have been built, or are proposed to be built, adjacent to or crossing national parks and national scenic and historic trails, and these facilities are or will affect scenic views within these park areas (Sullivan et al. 2013b;Sullivan and Abplanalp 2015). ...
In response to concerns arising from potential scenic impacts from renewable energy, electric transmission, and other types of development on lands and waters near NPS units, the U.S. Department of the Interior (USDI) National Park Service (NPS) has developed a new visual resource inventory (VRI) system to facilitate the management of scenic resources in high-value views both within and outside NPS unit boundaries.
The NPS VRI system is similar in some respects to other U.S. federal agency VRI systems, such as the USDI Bureau of Land Management VRI, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service Scenery Management System, in that it assesses scenic quality; uses formal design qualities such as form, line, color, and texture to describe and assess scenic quality; and incorporates viewer sensitivity in what is ultimately a judgment-based quantitative ranking of relative scenic value. However, the NPS VRI differs from other federal agency approaches in several major respects, reflecting important differences between the federal land management agencies with multiple-use mandates and the NPS, which is charged with preserving scenic resources for the enjoyment of current and future generations. First, the NPS inventory unit of analysis is a predetermined view from a specified viewpoint, rather than a polygon based on physiographic properties (e.g., a valley floor or a mountain range). The view-based inventory unit was chosen because NPS is concerned with specific landscape areas seen from specific viewing locations, which is how many NPS visitors experience the landscape. A view is defined as consisting of a viewpoint, a viewed landscape, and viewers. Second, in addition to scenic quality, the NPS VRI scenic inventory value (SIV) includes view importance, a measure of the non-scenic values of the view. Because historic and cultural resources are essential to the scenic experience of NPS visitors, the view importance score incorporates historic and cultural elements and values, as well as the value of both the viewpoint and viewed landscape to NPS interpretive goals and visitor experience.
The NPS VRI system includes an online database for storing inventory data for NPS units, as well as an associated geographic information system for semi-automated production of inventory maps. The database generates a variety of reports for inventory data.
To date, NPS VRIs have been conducted (or initiated) at 17 NPS units, ranging from large units with predominantly natural-appearing landscapes in the western United States to smaller units with heavily altered historic/cultural landscapes such as battlefields and recreation areas in the Midwest and eastern United States. The VRIs have proven useful for landscape management within park boundaries and for addressing concerns related to development outside NPS units.
... Two field studies have evaluated the visual presence of transmission structures (DRISCOLL et al. 1976, SULLIVAN 2014. Both studies were conducted in the Western US, where the air is drier and clearer and the vegetation is frequently sparse, with less opportunity for screening from dense forest cover than in the Eastern US. ...
While widely prepared for EISs, there is no widely accepted geospatial approach to VIA in
the USA. A landscape assessment framework for VIA is introduced that may be adapted to a project’s
particular context, such as the availability of spatial data and local sensitivities. The Northern Pass
Transmission Project is used as a case study to show how it can be applied.
... Recent years have seen the rapid development of energy facilities, especially utility-scale renewable energy projects and associated electric transmission lines, that because of their size and unique visual characteristics may cause large scenic impacts Sullivan et al. 2012aSullivan et al. , 2012bSullivan et al. , 2013aSullivan et al. 2014). Some renewable energy projects and transmission lines have been built, or are proposed to be built, adjacent to or crossing national parks and national scenic and historic trails. ...
Various United States federal agencies have developed visual resource inventory and management systems that reflect specific agency missions and visual resource management objectives, as well as the nature of the landscapes of concern to the agencies. These programs have varied in the degree to which they incorporate historic and cultural elements and values into the scenic inventory process.
The recent nationwide expansion of renewable energy and associated transmission development is causing a substantial increase in visual impacts on both scenic and historic/cultural resources. This increase has highlighted an important need for better integration of visual and historic/cultural resource assessment and management activities for land use planning purposes.
The U.S. Department of the Interior National Park Service (NPS), in response to concerns arising from potential scenic impacts from renewable energy, electric transmission, and other types of development on lands and waters near NPS units, is developing the Scenery Conservation System (SCS) to inventory and protect scenic resources in high-value views both within and outside NPS unit boundaries. Because historic and cultural resources are essential to the scenic experience of NPS visitors, SCS has been designed to incorporate historic and cultural elements and values into the scenic resource inventory process, and to provide practical guidance and metrics for successful integration of historic and cultural concerns into NPS’s scenic resource conservation efforts. SCS inventories have been conducted at a number of NPS units, and results indicate that SCS can be used successfully to capture important historic and cultural resource information and incorporate that information into the assessment of scenic values of views within and outside NPS units.
This report summarizes the results of a Visual Resource Analysis conducted by Argonne National Laboratory’s (Argonne’s) Environmental Science Division for the U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The study analyzed the regional effects of potential visual impacts of solar energy development on the BLM-designated Afton Solar Energy Zone (SEZ) in New Mexico and, based on the analysis, made recommendations for or against regional compensatory mitigation to compensate residents and other stakeholders for the potential visual impacts caused by solar energy development in the SEZ. The analysis was conducted as part of the solar regional mitigation strategy (SRMS) task conducted by BLM New Mexico with assistance from Argonne. The report recommended compensatory mitigation would be warranted for visual impacts to several communities, specially designated areas, and other points of interest.
