Optimal Site Selection of Solar Power Plant Via Best-Worst Method, SWARA and Geospatial Information System (A Case Study: Fars Province)

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 M.Sc. Student, Department of Geomatics Engineering, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Shahid Rajaee Teacher Training University, Tehran, Iran

2 Associate Professor, Department of Geomatics Engineering, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Shahid Rajaee Teacher Training University, Tehran, Iran

10.22059/ses.2024.380640.1085

Abstract

Iran recognized as one of the major fossil fuel producers in the world with a substantial portion of its energy basket reliant on fossil fuels, is situated in a region of the Earth with high solar radiation potential, making it suitable for solar energy production. The first step towards establishing solar power plants is the scientific and operational site selection for their construction. This study aims to identify suitable locations for solar power plants in Fars Province using a Geospatial Information System (GIS) and a multi-criteria decision-making approach. The proposed methodology involves the preparation of informational layers, spatial analyses, and visualizations using GIS. Additionally, criteria weighting and integration were performed using multi-criteria decision-making techniques. The study compares two methods for weighting the location criteria, Best-Worst Method (BWM) and Step-wise Weight Assessment Ratio Analysis (SWARA), which have been less utilized in previous research, and combines their results using geometric mean operator. According to the results, the criteria for solar power plant site selection, ranked by importance, are photovoltaic potential (0.241), direct normal irradiation (0.156), temperature (0.120), precipitation (0.092), distance from roads (0.089), distance from urban centers (0.085), distance from faults (0.066), and elevation (0.054). The land suitability maps indicate that over 50% of the area in Fars Province is highly or very highly suitable for the construction of solar power plants, with the northern, northeastern, and central regions, including the counties of Abadeh, Khorrambid, Pasargad, and Sarchehan, being prioritized.

Keywords

References

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Journal of sustainable Energy Systems
Volume 3, Issue 2
April 2024
Pages 209-227

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