Using GIS to Analyze Wind Turbine Sites within the Shakopee Public Utilities Electric Service Territory, Shakopee, MN USA
Papers in Resource Analysis, Volume 11, 2009
Jay T. Berken
“Shakopee Public Utilities (SPU) has been a publicly owned electric and water utility in Minnesota USA since 1902. Its electric service territory includes most of the City of Shakopee and some surrounding townships and a small portion of the City of Prior Lake. The City of Shakopee contains a main downtown district as well as residential, commercial, industrial, and agricultural zones. SPU is a separate entity from the City of Shakopee with a commission appointed by the Shakopee City Council. As an electric utility, SPU does not generate its own power and purchases all of its electric power demands from outside sources. SPU has been receiving inquiries from developers of power generating wind turbines since energy independence and the worries of global warming have become more prevalent. This study is a macro comprehensive spatial analysis to determine the best placement of wind turbines in SPU’s electric territory by analyzing geographic data layers.”
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