Review of the environmental effects of deploying small wind turbines in cities

Abstract

Abstract As the uptake of renewable energy systems increases in cities, attention is drawn to urban Small Urban Wind Turbine (SUWT) implementations. Their installation in cities and replacement of current energy sources can contribute to the mitigation of climate change through reduced local emissions and fewer energy losses, and to resilience through energy independence. These benefits can be directly linked to the UN Sustainability Goals. However, the exploitation of the wind potential using SUWTs in urban areas poses challenges given the variability in the urban morphology and materiality, and their effect on wind patterns. In addition, SUWTs may pose challenges in terms of noise, aesthetics, or safety amongst others. The understanding of the potential environmental effects of urban wind energy harvesting is still limited. Therefore, examining the environmental effect of SUWTs could contribute to establishing necessary regulations and gaining social acceptance, ultimately accelerating deployment. In this paper, we review the recent literature in four databases to identify the potential environmental effects of SUWTs. These effects are classified across two scales: the macro-scale for global effects, and the micro-scale for local effects. The review of the literature shows that the effects are strongly related to the technology of the turbines and the installation location, among other factors.…