Offshore wind farm site selection study around Jeju Island, South Korea

This study suggests strategies for conducting an offshore wind farm site selection and evaluates feasible offshore wind farm sites in the coastal areas of Jeju Island, South Korea. The site selection criteria are classified into four categories: energy resources and economics, conservation areas and landscape protection, human activities, and the marine environment and marine ecology. We used marine spatial techniques from GIS and the investigated resources available in the country. The results indicate that offshore wind farms can be located along a wide range of the eastern and western coasts of Jeju Island, considering energy resources and economics only. However, when considering the four categories presented in this study, the number of feasible offshore wind farm sites was significantly less than when only energy resources and economics were considered. The data and analysis presented in this study will be useful for the offshore wind farm site selection around Jeju Island, and it will also contribute to minimizing the environmental impacts and reducing the social conflicts between stakeholders. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.