Gallery of VLT Events: Aberdeen Bay Offshore Windfarm Proposal in VLT
View photographs of events at which the Virtual Landscape Theatre is used for raising public awareness of a proposed windfarm, in Aberdeen Bay since 2005, and public preferences for landscapes and seascapes, with audiences in Aberdeen of all ages and backgrounds. Larger versions can be viewed by clicking on the thumbnail.
Residents of Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire, and visitors to public events view alternative layouts of a windfarm proposed for Aberdeen Bay, voting to record awareness of the proposal, and preferences for seascapes with and without wind turbines under different environmental conditions (e.g. clear day, foggy), time of day (morning, noon and evening), and time of year (summer, winter). Participants went on virtual tours of Aberdeen Bay and the proposed development in a virtual reality model in the Virtual Landscape Theatre. Layouts of proposal were as published by the date of event.
Related research findings into factors influencing public preferences towards offshore wind energy are reported in:
- Bishop, I. and Miller, D.R. 2007. Visual influence of off-shore wind turbines: the influence of distance, contrast, movement and social variables. Renewable Energy 32, 814-831.
A summary of community engagement and visioning using the Virtual Landscape Theatre, focusing on renewable energy is also available here.
Related work undertaken for the Countryside Council for Wales on the first geographic analysis of the visibility of seascapes, undertaken for Wales, is available here.
Acknowledgements: Thanks to the visitors to public events at Techfest in 2005, 06, 07 and 08; VLT@Lemon Tree Research Weekend; Haddo Heritage Fair 2009; the Open Doors at Macaulay Land Use Research Institute 2010; participants in research by Judith Murray (University of Aberdeen and Macaulay Institute) 2011; All Energy Exhibition Aberdeen AECC in 2005, 06, 07, 14; Satrosphere Green Energy Discovery Weekend, Nov. 2013; and attendees at demonstration events at the Scottish Parliament, Scottish Government Victoria Quay, Scottish Natural Heritage Battleby, as well as visiting groups to James Hutton Institute 2011 to 2016.
