3D MODEL DEVELOPMENT OF THE SUN PARK

In order to plan the location of the solar park as quickly and efficiently as possible, already at the initial stage of planning, ways to assess their potential visual impact on the landscape should be provided, which is emphasized as an important factor in order to gain public support for the construction of a solar park in a specific location.

Subjectively evaluating the visual impact of the solar park from local planning, detailed planning, photo montages, etc. two-dimensional materials, fail to perceive neither the total volume of the park, nor the visual changes of a specific viewpoint. A static photograph, in which a solar park model is digitally placed, cannot provide information about the spatiality of the landscape, which is necessary in the development of quality landscape models.

We are preparing a digital augmented reality 3D model for the area of ​​the solar park, including the adjacent areas that the planned park will potentially affect. In the era of three-dimensional (3D) modeling, free access resources and remote solutions, it is possible to create geospatially linked models of solar parks, which can be used for higher quality, and at the same time more reliable, visual modeling of landscapes in the planning process of solar parks. The 3D model includes the arrangement of solar panels in real, planned volumes, according to the project submitted by the customer, as well as the elements of the area – buildings, roads, waters, agricultural land areas, forest massifs, engineering structures, which are represented in real sizes.

Using data from open-access LiDAR point clouds and orthophoto maps of the Latvian Geospatial Information Agency, the vegetation data of the territory is created. The terrain model is created from LiDAR data, connected to the corresponding orthophoto maps in a 3D modeling program. The program also creates building models from a combination of freely available cadastral and building outline data and LiDAR data, and also adapts a freely available solar panel model by scaling it.

By combining the possibilities of open access programs with appropriate, freely available data, we create an interactive 3D reality model with a solar panel park as a visual influencer of the landscape, both locally usable and serviceable. The 3D model can be used when assessing the impact on the landscape, as well as in the development of a local plan or detailed plan.