Geographic information system-based investment system for photovoltaic power plants location analysis in Turkey.

The motivation of this research, development, demonstration, deployment, and diffusion (RD3&D) study is to present the progress of designing the GIS-based location selection module of autonomous investment decision support system and its experimental application for photovoltaic power plants (PVPPs) in Antalya, Burdur, and Isparta planning region Turkey. The other motivation of this RD3&D study is to start investigating in combinations the applicability and usability of weighted linear combination with 4 subjective weighting approaches (rank sum weight method (RS), inverse or reciprocal weights method (RR), rank order centroid (ROC), point allocation (PA)) for 5 main criteria, 14 sub-criteria, and 79 value ranges. The results show that 38.48% of the planning region is unsuitable, 61.52% is suitable. Only 2.07% of this region is very highly suitable according to RS. 7.13%, 9.22%, and 5.58% are respectively very highly suitable according to RR, ROC, and PA. Similarities between RS, RR, ROC, and PA methods are presented such as RS-RR: 0.7834, RS-ROC: 0.8510, and RS-PA: 0.6384 with covariance and correlation analysis. A backward-looking performance verification and validation analysis is also performed with 7 PVPPs for only 4 decisive success factors (capacity factor, annual energy/land use, project cost/capacity, project cost/energy). This study is thus able to evaluate the optimal locations for future investments, as well as the suitability conditions of the available investments. This study will contribute to provide some useful recommendations for decision makers to identify and assess the hotspots which are suitable for PVPPs in the planning region.

Assessing the solar PV power project site selection in Pakistan: based on AHP-fuzzy VIKOR approach.

Pakistan has an abundant solar power potential which can be effectively utilized for the electricity generation. There are various sites across the country which have sufficient solar irradiation across the year, and thus, suitable for the installation of solar photovoltaic (PV) power projects. This study, therefore, aims to undertake research on the establishment of solar power project site selection in Pakistan. In this context, 14 promising cities of Pakistan are considered as alternatives and studied in terms of economic, environmental, social, location, climate, and orography criteria and further supplemented with 20 sub-criteria. Initially, the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) method has been used to prioritize each of the main criteria and sub-criteria. Later, fuzzy VlseKriterijuska Optimizacija I Komoromisno Resenje (F-VIKOR) method has been employed to prioritize the 14 alternatives. The present investigation reveals that Khuzdar (C2), Badin (C3), and Mastung (C7) are the most suitable cities for the installation of solar PV power projects in Pakistan. Finally, the outcome of the sensitivity analysis revealed that obtained results are reliable and robust for the installation of solar PV power projects in Pakistan. This study shall assist government, energy planners, and policymakers in making cities sustainable by establishing solar power projects in Pakistan.