A presentation on the potential for Virginia’s first commercial onshore wind farm in Rockingham county

Abstract

This capstone project will examine past and current efforts to develop land-based wind energy in Virginia, specifically in Rockingham County. A wind power plant in this area would leverage the high elevations in the region along with some of the best wind resources in the state, and would contribute to Virginia’s clean energy goals. This project focuses on access to and analysis of existing wind data sets and creating maps to visualize and explore the feasibility and value of a wind farm in this region. The project also consolidates other existing information pertaining to wind project development and presents it in a form that enables identification of the most critical and valuable attributes of a potential project. This site has had past development activities as well as present with a development company. A background section of this report reviewed processes and requirements for the wind project in the development phases. This included regulatory requirements at all levels of government, research on wind farms in the same region, and Virginia wind development history. The analysis section comprised of using previously collected wind data at the site to make visualizations to understand the wind resource of the area. It also includes the creation of maps that for the project to be understood with reference to its spatial surroundings. The outcome of this capstone project is a resource for stakeholders to use to understand the various aspects of the wind project. As a result, the project can be understood with greater transparency and potential misunderstandings can be corrected.