Data release for the Geographic context affects the landscape change and fragmentation caused by wind energy facilities.

Wind energy generation causes transformation of landscapes as new roads, pads, and transmission lines are constructed. We mapped, quantified, and analyzed the effects of facilities geographic context on road networks and changes in landscape patterns by digitizing the footprints of 39 wind facilities and the surrounding land cover using high-resolution imagery. We then measured landscape pattern before and after facility construction, using 3 metrics associated with species responses to habitat loss and fragmentation (amount, core area, and connectivity of undeveloped land) at the scale of 1km around newly constructed turbines and roads. This data here was used in understanding how new facilities change the amount of undeveloped land and changes in metrics of landscape patterns as key measures that could be used by developers and planners to make informed siting and layout decisions. Results showed that for these sites, new facilities decreased the amount of undeveloped land, on average, by just 1.8% while changes in metrics of landscape pattern were relatively much larger (50 to 125%). Linear models in the research paper results indicated levels of pre-construction development were a key factor explaining the impact of new wind facilities on landscape metrics, with pre-construction road networks, turbine spacing, and topography having smaller influences. Furthermore, as the proportion of developed land around facilities increased, a higher proportion of the facility utilized pre-construction developed land and a lower density of new roads were built, resulting in smaller impacts to undeveloped landscapes.