Visual Impact Assessment - Windy Point Wind...

Windy Point

Wind Farm

-

Visual Impact

Assessment

December 2017

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Executive Summary

The Windy Point Wind Farm project (the "Project") is being developed by Windy Point

Wind Park Ltd. ("WPWPL"), owned in partnership by Boralex Inc. and the Alberta Wind

Energy Corporation ("AWEC"). The Project is located in Municipal District of Pincher

Creek, Alberta (the "Municipality"), approximately 13km north-East of the town of

Pincher Creek.

As required for the Municipal District of Pincher Creek application for a wind farm

development permit, an analysis of the visual impact of the Project has been conducted

to give a realistic representation of how the landscape will appear with the proposed

wind farm installed.

The aim of this report is to present the developed photomontages for the Project and

the associated methodology.

Table of Contents 1 INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................................... 1

2 METHODOLOGY AND PARAMETERS ................................................................................................... 3

2.1 LAYOUT AND TURBINE MODEL .............................................................................................................. 3 2.2 VIEWPOINT – PICTURE LOCATIONS ...................................................................................................... 5 2.3 PICTURE INFORMATION ....................................................................................................................... 7 2.4 COMPUTER SIMULATION ..................................................................................................................... 7

2.4.1 Camera/Picture Information ................................................................................................ 8

2.4.2 Picture Calibration ............................................................................................................ 10

2.4.3 Simulation - Photomontage .............................................................................................. 10

3 FINAL PHOTOMONTAGES .................................................................................................................... 12

3.1 A – RECEPTOR I (F.WELSCH) – ROAD 293 ........................................................................................ 13 3.2 B – RECEPTOR G (J.WELSCH) .......................................................................................................... 14 3.3 C – RECEPTOR H (CROWSHOE) ........................................................................................................ 15 3.4 D – RECEPTOR D (POLSKI) ............................................................................................................... 16 3.5 E – RECEPTOR F (MENSAGHI 2) ........................................................................................................ 17 3.6 F – RECEPTOR E (BANNICK) ............................................................................................................. 18 3.7 G – RECEPTOR C (RAUBER) ............................................................................................................. 19 3.8 H – INTERSECTION ROAD 758 – ROAD 510 ........................................................................................ 20 3.9 I – HANN DWELLING ......................................................................................................................... 21 3.10 J – RECEPTOR V (R.TRODDEN) ........................................................................................................ 22 3.11 K – RECEPTOR A (R.TRODDEN) ........................................................................................................ 23 3.12 L – INTERSECTION ROAD 785 – ROAD 290 ........................................................................................ 24 3.13 M – RECEPTORS K-L (DECOCK) ........................................................................................................ 25 3.14 N – RECEPTOR J (ZIEFFLE) – NORTH VIEW ......................................................................................... 26 3.15 O – RECEPTOR J (ZIEFFLE) – SOUTH VIEW ......................................................................................... 27 3.16 P – RECEPTOR M (BERG) – EAST VIEW ............................................................................................. 28 3.17 Q – RECEPTOR M (BERG) – SOUTH VIEW ........................................................................................... 29 3.18 R – RECEPTOR N (LILLICO 1) ............................................................................................................ 30 3.19 S – RECEPTOR O (M.D. HAMMOND) .................................................................................................. 31 3.20 T – RECEPTOR T (J.L. HAMMOND) .................................................................................................... 32 3.21 U – INTERSECTION ROAD 293 – ROAD 82 .......................................................................................... 33 3.22 V – OLDMAN ANTIQUES ENTRANCE ................................................................................................... 34 3.23 W – OLDMAN RESERVOIR – RECREATIVE AREA .................................................................................. 35 3.24 X – OLDMAN DAM – OBSERVATION AREA ........................................................................................... 36

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List of Figures Figure 1: Windy Point Wind Farm - Project Location ..................................................................... 1

Figure 2: Windy Point Wind Farm and Existing projects ................................................................ 2

Figure 3: Vestas Turbine (V80 – 67m hub height) ......................................................................... 3

Figure 4: Vestas V136 4.2MW - Turbine Dimensions ..................................................................... 4

Figure 5: Point of view Locations .................................................................................................... 6

Figure 6: windPRO - Camera Information ....................................................................................... 9

Figure 7: windPRO - Picture Information ........................................................................................ 9

Figure 8: windPRO - Picture Calibration ....................................................................................... 10

Figure 9: windPRO - Photomontage Result .................................................................................. 11

Figure 10: windPRO - Turbine Luminosity Adjustment ................................................................ 11

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1 Introduction

The Windy Point Wind Farm project (the "Project") is being developed by Windy Point Wind

Park Ltd. ("WPWPL"), owned in partnership by Boralex Inc. and the Alberta Wind Energy

Corporation ("AWEC"). The Project is located in Municipal District of Pincher Creek, Alberta (the

"Municipality"), approximately 13km north-East of the town of Pincher Creek.

The proposed Project consists of up to 14 wind turbines (see Figure 1). The Project is located

next to four existing wind farms (see Figure 2): Oldman 1 (2 turbines), Oldman 2 (20 turbines),

Summerview 1 (39 turbines) and Summerview 2 (22 turbines).

As required for the Municipal District of Pincher Creek application for a wind farm development

permit, an analysis of the visual impact of the Project has been conducted to give a realistic

representation of how the landscape will appear with the proposed Project installed.

Figure 1: Windy Point Wind Farm - Project Location

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Figure 2: Windy Point Wind Farm and Existing projects

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2 Methodology and Parameters

2.1 LAYOUT AND TURBINE MODEL

WPWPL has chosen the Vestas V136 4.2 MW turbine for the Project. The Project layout will

consist of 12 turbines with 2 alternative locations. This analysis will demonstrate the impact

from the higher number of locations under consideration (14), thereby illustrating a worst -

case scenario impact on the viewscape.

Therefore, the layout represented in the photomontages consists of 14 Vestas V136 wind

turbines at 105m hub height, 136m blade diameter and 173m total height.

The 14 turbine Project layout has been designed considering all the natural, environmental and

regulatory setbacks. The turbines will be located to best fit in the remaining buildable area

outside of these constraints, where the wind resource is the best.

Picture and dimension of a Vestas turbine are shown below.

Figure 2: Vestas Turbine (V80 – 67m hub height) 1

1 AWEC, Oldman Wind Farm, 2011.

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Figure 3: Vestas V136 4.2MW - Turbine Dimensions2

2 Vestas, General Description 4MW Platform, 2017.

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2.2 VIEWPOINT – PICTURE LOCATIONS

As per the Municipality development permit application requirements, the aim of the visual

analysis is to realistically represent the landscape with the expected wind turbines from various

visual perspectives around the Project site. The locations of the points of view used for the

photomontages follow the Municipality requirements and include visual perspectives from

dwellings (permanent, semi-permanent and seasonal dwellings), main roads intersections and

recreative areas.

Generally, photographs used in a visual impact assessment are taken from an area up to 2km

from the Project boundary. However, to give a larger representation of the visual impacts of

the Project, some of the photo locations used in this analysis are beyond this distance. Also,

based on the Project configuration, several visualisations have been used from the same point

of view. The twenty-four point of view locations are summarised and illustrated in the table and

the figure below:

Picture

Name

Easting (m) (UTM NAD83 Z12)

Northing (m) (UTM NAD83 Z12)

Distance to the

nearest turbine (m)

A 292345 5500053 2072

B 292323 5499404 2040

C 292941 5499159 1460

D 293017 5498491 1533

E 293007 5498301 1524

F 293217 5497878 1383

G 293336 5497628 1359

H 293020 5496077 2655

I 294060 5496176 2038

J 296480 5495938 1473

K 296468 5495849 1557

L 297926 5495900 2413

M 297609 5498793 726

N 296395 5500501 935

O 296385 5500484 953

P 295825 5501664 1025

Q 295816 5501661 1838

R 296813 5502716 1308

S 298050 5502305 1530

T 296472 5503726 2354

U 292432 5502423 3241

V 292995 5495289 3332

W 291221 5495035 4593

X 290072 5494337 5880 Table 1: Point of view Locations (Coordinates)

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Figure 4: Point of view Locations

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2.3 PICTURE INFORMATION

Each photomontage has been developed using photographs taken from the above-mentioned

locations on 29th of August, 2017, between 12:00 am and 5:00 pm and on 30th of August, 2017,

between 10:00 am and 2:30 pm.

The photograph locations were chosen based on the knowledge of the area by the WPWPL

staff. Moreover, some locations were added once on site, to improve the visual assessment

coverage.

The weather on August 29th and 30th was relatively smoky (with a low level of forest fire smoke)

but sunny, resulting in good quality photographs with good visibility. Where possible, the

pictures have been taken with the sun in the back to avoid impacting quality.

The camera used was a Nikon D90 with adjustable focal length, which is standard to take

photographs for the analysis. To keep consistency between the photographs, a tripod with a

built-in level was used, resulting in the same photograph height and to avoid declination

deviation. The tripod height was 1.6m above the ground, which is representative of the eyes

height of a person.

A GPS, with a compass, was used to determine the exact location and direction (field of view) of

each photograph.

To help with calibration of the photomontage, wood sticks with red flags were used on-site to

represent control points. Control points are used during the simulation to help the software

locate the photographs in the space.

A “Site Picture Form” was completed by the photographer on-site for each photograph in order

to get all the pertinent information including climatic conditions, time of day, photograph

coordinates, height and direction, and other considerations for the photomontage simulation.

2.4 COMPUTER SIMULATION

The photomontages have been developed using windPRO, version 3.1 software3. This software,

developed by EMD International A/S, is specialized for this application and is a standard

software package used extensively in the wind power industry. The software consists of several

modules including one specific for the development of photomontages to be used for visual

impact assessments.

3 https://www.emd.dk/windpro/

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To realize a photomontage with windPRO, the following information and data are required:

� Original Pictures;

� Picture information (date, hour, focal length, coordinates…);

� Coordinates of the proposed wind turbines;

� Coordinates of surrounding wind turbines, if any;

� Height contour lines;

� Wind direction.

Height contour lines are necessary to calibrate the simulation. The software creates a horizon

line, which is necessary to fit with the horizon observed on the picture. Thus, precise contour

lines are preferable to do an efficient calibration. For this analysis, LIDAR15 DEM from AltaLIS

have been used, which is among the most reliable source in Alberta4.

The wind direction information is used by the software to depict the direction of the turbines in

the photomontage. The prevailing west-south-west wind direction in the area was mainly

chosen for the simulation since it represents the situation that will occur most of the time.

Based on the meteorological tower data at the Project site, the prevailing wind direction is 255°

(WSW). However, when existing turbines appeared on a photo, the real wind direction was

considered.

The photomontage is developed using three steps, which are briefly explained below.

2.4.1 CAMERA/PICTURE INFORMATION

The first step is to enter all the information about the camera and the photograph. The

information discussed in the Section 2.3 is included here. The figures below show how the

information is included in the software.

4 http://www.altalis.com/products/terrain/lidar15_dem.html

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Figure 5: windPRO - Camera Information

Figure 6: windPRO - Picture Information

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2.4.2 PICTURE CALIBRATION

The second step is to calibrate the photograph to be sure that the software correctly identifies

the wind turbines locations and the right dimensions within the picture. As discussed

previously, the calibration of the photograph is achieved with several tools including the

horizon line (yellow line in the figure below). The following figure shows how the calibration is

done in the software.

Figure 7: windPRO - Picture Calibration

2.4.3 SIMULATION - PHOTOMONTAGE

The third step is the conducting the simulation. This creates the results of the photomontage

and allows to make minor adjustments if required. For example, it is sometimes necessary to

erase turbine parts (towers or blades) that would be masked by a building. It's also possible to

modify the weather conditions to adjust the luminosity and improve the quality of the

photomontage. The figures below show the result of the photomontage created by the

software.

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Figure 8: windPRO - Photomontage Result

Figure 9: windPRO - Turbine Luminosity Adjustment

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3 Final Photomontages

The original photographs and the final photomontages are shown in this section. The points of

view represented in the photomontage are the following:

Picture

Name Points of view Name

A Receptor I (F.Welsch) – Road 293

B Receptor G (J.Welsch) / Intersection Road 80 – Road 293A

C Receptor H (Crowshoe)

D Receptor D (Polski)

E Receptor F (Mensaghi 2)

F Receptor E (Bannick)

G Receptor C (Rauber)

H Intersection Road 758 – Road 510

I Hann Dwelling

J Receptor V (R.Trodden)

K Receptor A (R.Trodden)

L Intersection Road 785 – Road 290

M Receptors K-L (Decock)

N Receptor J (Zieffle) – North view

O Receptor J (Zieffle) – South view

P Receptor M (Berg) – East view

Q Receptor M (Berg) – South view

R Receptor N (Lillico 1)

S Receptor O (M.D. Hammond)

T Receptor T (J.L. Hammond)

U Intersection Road 293 – Road 82

V Oldman Antiques Entrance

W Oldman Reservoir – Recreative Area

X Oldman Dam – Observation Area Table 2: Point of view Locations (Name)

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3.1 A – RECEPTOR I (F.WELSCH) – ROAD 293

2017/08/30 – 11:21 Field of View: 106° Wind Direction: 255° Equi. Focal Length : 52mm

Wind Turbines (From Left to Right): V06, V05, V07.

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3.2 B – RECEPTOR G (J.WELSCH)



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3.3 C – RECEPTOR H (CROWSHOE)


Wind Turbines (From Left to Right): V07, V05.

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3.4 D – RECEPTOR D (POLSKI)


Wind Turbines (From Left to Right): V07.

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3.5 E – RECEPTOR F (MENSAGHI 2)



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3.6 F – RECEPTOR E (BANNICK)



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3.7 G – RECEPTOR C (RAUBER)



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3.8 H – INTERSECTION ROAD 758 – ROAD 510


Wind Turbines (From Left to Right): V12, V10, V14, V11.

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3.9 I – HANN DWELLING



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3.10 J – RECEPTOR V (R.TRODDEN)


Wind Turbines (From Left to Right): V11, V10, V08, V09, V14.

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3.11 K – RECEPTOR A (R.TRODDEN)


Wind Turbines (From Left to Right): V11, V10, V08, V09, V14.

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3.12 L – INTERSECTION ROAD 785 – ROAD 290


Wind Turbines (From Left to Right): V10, V14, V05, V09, V08, V04, V03, V13.

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3.13 M – RECEPTORS K-L (DECOCK)


Wind Turbines (From Left to Right): V09, V12, V08, V07, V05, V04.

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3.14 N – RECEPTOR J (ZIEFFLE) – NORTH VIEW



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3.15 O – RECEPTOR J (ZIEFFLE) – SOUTH VIEW


Wind Turbines (From Left to Right): V14, V11, V10, V09, V13, V08, V04.

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3.16 P – RECEPTOR M (BERG) – EAST VIEW



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3.17 Q – RECEPTOR M (BERG) – SOUTH VIEW


Wind Turbines (From Left to Right): V13, V14, V09, V10, V11, V06, V04, V03, V12, V05.

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3.18 R – RECEPTOR N (LILLICO 1)

2017/08/29 – 13:57 Field of View: 183° Wind Direction: 95° Equi. Focal Length: 30mm

Wind Turbines (From Left to Right): V02, V01, V14, V11, V10, V09, V13, V08, V04.

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3.19 S – RECEPTOR O (M.D. HAMMOND)



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3.20 T – RECEPTOR T (J.L. HAMMOND)



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3.21 U – INTERSECTION ROAD 293 – ROAD 82


Wind Turbines (From Left to Right): V05, V09, V06, V10, V07, V12.

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3.22 V – OLDMAN ANTIQUES ENTRANCE



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3.23 W – OLDMAN RESERVOIR – RECREATIVE AREA



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3.24 X – OLDMAN DAM – OBSERVATION AREA


Wind Turbines (From Left to Right): V06, V07, V05, V12, V10, V14, V11.

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