sites in a better perspective from the standpoint of (1) the existing power distribution system and (2) the existing interstate highway system. In this manner, a strong description of eligible sites will exist. III. DISCUSSION OF THE VARIABLES As discussed in Section IIA, 21 maps consisting of 36 environmental variables were prepared during the course of this study. Prior to presenting the results of analyses performed using this data, the rationale for use of the information and an assessment of reliability of the data must be presented. In the sections that follow, each map is discussed from the perspective of (1) the rationale for the use of the information; (2) the source and reliability of the data and (3) the spatial coverage of the variable. A. LAND AND WATER - FIGURE 4 Rationale: Two reasons exist for mapping land and water areas. First, a base map was needed for coding purposes that established a uniform treatment of grid cells at the interface of land and water. As shown in Figure 4, the decision was made to code a cell as land if a portion of the cell included land area. This coding decision established a protocol for treating cells in subsequent mapping efforts. The second reason for coding land and water areas was to identify the degree to which water sites need to be considered for rectenna sites. At this time, water sites are considered as potential exclusion areas because the reference SPS system does not include offshore construction specifications. At this point in the analysis, it is impossible to assess if offshore sites are needed. However, the expectation is that onshore sites may be difficult to locate within the eastern half of the United States. Therefore, potential water sites are identified to a distance of 32 miles offshore (2 grid squares). All of the Great Lakes are also
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTU5NjU0Mg==