Kirby Calvert

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Atle Mikkola Kjøsen

Western University Canada

Stephen Muecke

University of Notre Dame (Australia)

Carolina Alves

University of Cambridge

David Seamon

Kansas State University

Theodore Arabatzis

National & Kapodistrian University of Athens

Armando Marques-Guedes

UNL - New University of Lisbon

Stephane Tonnelat

Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique / French National Centre for Scientific Research

Rashmi Sadana

George Mason University

Paolo Buffo

Università degli Studi di Bergamo (University of Bergamo)

Cameron E Gordon

The Australian National University

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Papers by Kirby Calvert

Spatial Analysis of Biomass Resources within a Socio-Ecologically Heterogeneous Region: Identifying Opportunities for a Mixed Feedstock Stream

ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information, 2014

An automated model for rooftop PV systems assessment in ArcGIS using LIDAR

by Jeffrey R S Brownson, Kirby Calvert, and Mesude Bayrakci

AIMS Energy, 2015

As photovoltaic (PV) systems have become less expensive, building rooftops have come to be attrac... more As photovoltaic (PV) systems have become less expensive, building rooftops have come to be attractive for local power production. Identifying rooftops suitable for solar energy systems over large geographic areas is needed for cities to obtain more accurate assessments of production potential and likely patterns of development. This paper presents a new method for extracting roof segments and locating suitable areas for PV systems using Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) data and building footprints. Rooftop segments are created using seven slope (tilt), five aspect (azimuth) classes and 6 different building types. Moreover, direct beam shading caused by nearby objects and the surrounding terrain is taken into account on a monthly basis. Finally, the method is implemented as an ArcGIS model in ModelBuilder and a tool is created. In order to show its validity, the method is applied to city of Philadelphia, PA, USA with the criteria of slope, aspect, shading and area used to locate suitable areas for PV system installation. The results show that 33.7% of the buildings footprints areas and 48.6% of the rooftop segments identified is suitable for PV systems. Overall, this study provides a replicable model using commercial software that is capable of extracting individual roof segments with more detailed criteria across an urban area.

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More solar farms or more bioenergy crops? Mapping and assessing potential land-use conflicts among renewable energy technologies in eastern Ontario, Canada

Applied Geography

Renewable energy systems are land intensive at local scales. Appropriate siting can help to mitig... more Renewable energy systems are land intensive at local scales. Appropriate siting can help to mitigate the extent to which RE implementation compromises existing land-based economies and ecosystem services. As such, an integrated approach to land-use and energy planning, or land-energy planning, can help to ensure that RE technologies can be intensively implemented while minimizing negative impacts. Requisite to the development of such plans is (a) estimating total land availability on which technologies capable of supporting RE production functions after considering various socio-political, economic and ecological constraints; (b) identifying potential sources of conflict among multiple RE options; and (c) assessing the trade-offs associated with allocating this land toward one energy system and not another. The purpose of this paper is to address these issues at a regional-scale in the context of intensifying solar and bioenergy production. A methodology is developed from which to (...

Linking analyses of material flow and markets to inform Canadian forest biorefinery development

The development of biorefining-production of energy, fuel, chemicals, and materials from biomass-... more The development of biorefining-production of energy, fuel, chemicals, and materials from biomass-in North America has largely been driven by a combination of renewable fuel standards (mandates) and excise tax exemptions (incentives). To date, the primary product of the biorefinery sector has been ethanol produced from corn and wheat. One challenge associated with developing the forest-based biorefinery is developing realistic supply chains to deliver biomass to the putative refinery. New innovations that will enable biorefineries to use wood as a feedstock are discussed here. The Canadian forest sector is examined and criteria proposed for identifying suitable sites for forest-based biorefining activities. Seven "ideal" clusters of forest infrastructure in Canada that could supply biomass to support a biorefinery project are identified, four in British Columbia and three in eastern Canada. The risks associated with sourcing forest biomass are discussed, as are the challeng...

A POLYMORPHIC APPROACH TO POLICY ANALYSIS: A CASE STUDY OF ONTARIO'S ETHANOL IN GASOLINE REGULATION

Geografiska Annaler: Series B, Human Geography, 2015

ABSTRACT This article develops a “polymorphic” approach to policy analysis, that is, an approach ... more ABSTRACT This article develops a “polymorphic” approach to policy analysis, that is, an approach that draws on multiple forms of spatial reasoning. Specifically, the proposed framework deploys scale and network not merely as epistemological devices that make sense of “horizontal” and “vertical” politico-institutional structures, but as co-constitutive ontological processes that involve an ever-shifting interplay among legacies, rhythms, and events. This polymorphic approach, we argue, facilitates the identification and the examination of the mobilization of social networks and of the attendant cross-scalar interactions that must be articulated whenever a given policy is framed as a sensible and politically viable place-based solution. The novel conceptual framework is then applied to the empirical investigation of the formulation of the complex moral, political, and economic environment that enabled the emergence of Ontario&#39;s controversial Ethanol in Gasoline Regulation. Our polymorphic approach reveals how this regulation is a (failed) attempt to reconcile Canada&#39;s legacy as a resource-based economy and Ontario&#39;s legacy as a manufacturing-based economy where value is added, with the need for more rational and less harmful resource extraction and for greener fuels that can sustain the current order. We build on the lessons drawn from this case study to suggest that our approach has wider applicability in that it can help create a process-oriented, dynamic, and multi-dimensional geography of policy-making.

Toward renewable energy geo-information infrastructures: Applications of GIScience and remote sensing that build institutional capacity

Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 2013

Sustained policy support is necessary in order to drive a transition toward renewable energy (RE)... more Sustained policy support is necessary in order to drive a transition toward renewable energy (RE). The ability to realize RE policy objectives with minimal impact on policy goals outside of the RE domain is constrained by a range of geographic factors related to resource potential, the distribution of resources, land availability / suitability, the absorptive capacity of proximal infrastructure, and local socio-political acceptance. With this in mind, this paper provides a systematic review of how geographic information science and remote sensing techniques have been applied to reduce uncertainties surrounding renewable energy development, with emphasis on policy and planning needs. The concept of a 'geo-information infrastructure' is used to bring coherence and direction to this growing body of literature. The review highlights four underdeveloped research areas, including: resolving issues of scalar discordance through comprehensive analysis at local and regional scales; mapping interactions in space of multiple supply options to deliver more accurate and sophisticated estimates of RE potential in an area and to identify competitive and symbiotic land-use situations; using energy resource maps as primary inputs into the development of technology road-maps; and developing geographically explicit indicators which can signal priority areas for RE recovery based on social and environmental returns on investments. In each case, suggestions moving forward are provided. The paper identifies knowledge-based institutional networking as a pathway through which local and regional public authorities can be equipped with the resources necessary to build and mobilize a geo-information infrastructure.

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Thematic land-cover map assimilation and synthesis: the case of locating potential bioenergy feedstock in eastern Ontario, Canada

International Journal of Geographical Information Science, 2014

ABSTRACT Insufficient spatial coverage of existing land-cover data is a common limitation to time... more ABSTRACT Insufficient spatial coverage of existing land-cover data is a common limitation to timely and effective spatial analysis. Achieving spatial completeness of land-cover data is the most challenging for large study areas which straddle ecological or administrative boundaries, and where individuals and agencies lack access to, and the means to process, raw data from which to derive spatially complete land-cover maps. In many cases, various sources of secondary data are available, so that land-cover map assimilation and synthesis can resolve this research problem. The following paper develops a reliable and repeatable framework for assimilating and synthesizing pre-classified data sets. Assimilation is achieved through data reformatting and map legend reconciliation in the context of a specific application. Individual maps are assessed for accuracy at various geographic scales and levels of thematic precision, with an emphasis on the ‘area of overlap’, in order to extract information that guides the synthesis process. The quality of the synthesized land-cover data set is evaluated using advanced accuracy assessment methods, including a measure describing the ‘magnitude of disagreement’. This method is applied to derive a seamless thematic map of the land cover of eastern Ontario from two disparate map series. The importance of assessing data quality throughout the process using multiple reference data sets is highlighted, and limitations of the method are discussed.

Rethinking ‘Drop-in’ Biofuels: On the Political Materialities of Bioenergy

by Kean Birch and Kirby Calvert

A sustainable transition is premised upon moving from a carbon energy regime to a renewable energ... more A sustainable transition is premised upon moving from a carbon energy regime to a renewable energy regime; a highly contested political-economic transformation, to say the least. In places like the United States and European Union the main form of renewable energy is bioenergy, especially biofuels. Recent policy and industry efforts are focusing on the development and implementation of what are known as ‘drop-in’ biofuels, so named because they can be incorporated into existing distribution infrastructure (e.g. pipelines) and conversion devices with relatively few, if any, technical modifications. As with carbon energy, bioenergy has particular materialities that are implicated in the political-economic possibilities and constraints facing societies around the world. These political materialities of bioenergy shape and are shaped by new energy regimes and therefore problematize the notion of a drop-in biofuel. Thus further examination of the political materialities of bioenergy, and of renewable energy more generally, is of critical importance for successful sustainable transitions.

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Spatial Analysis of Biomass Resources within a Socio-Ecologically Heterogeneous Region: Identifying Opportunities for a Mixed Feedstock Stream

ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information, 2014

An automated model for rooftop PV systems assessment in ArcGIS using LIDAR

by Jeffrey R S Brownson, Kirby Calvert, and Mesude Bayrakci

AIMS Energy, 2015

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More solar farms or more bioenergy crops? Mapping and assessing potential land-use conflicts among renewable energy technologies in eastern Ontario, Canada

Applied Geography