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Analysis of land availability for utility-scale power plants and assessment of solar photovoltaic development in the state of Arizona, USA

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  • Majumdar, Debaleena
  • Pasqualetti, Martin J.

Abstract

Solar photovoltaic (PV) can help meet the growing demand for clean electricity in Arizona. This paper answers where solar PV development has taken place in Arizona, how much suitable land is available for utility-scale PV development, and how future land cover changes can affect the availability of this suitable land. PV development suitability scores are calculated for the land across Arizona based on topography, location, solar resource and public opinion factors. Ground truthing is used to identify the scenario which best explains Arizona's PV power plant developments from several decision-making scenarios. Less than two percent of Arizona's land is considered Excellent for PV development. Most of this land is private land or owned by state trust. If the available suitable land is fully developed with solar PV, Arizona has the potential to become a regional energy hub. However, in the next few decades suitable areas for solar PV generation can get rapidly depleted due to conflict with growing urban areas. If the suitable land for PV generation is not set-aside, Arizona would then have to depend on less suitable lands, look for multi-purpose land use options and distributed PV deployments to meet its future energy need.

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  • Majumdar, Debaleena & Pasqualetti, Martin J., 2019. "Analysis of land availability for utility-scale power plants and assessment of solar photovoltaic development in the state of Arizona, USA," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 134(C), pages 1213-1231.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:renene:v:134:y:2019:i:c:p:1213-1231
    DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2018.08.064
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    7. Colak, H. Ebru & Memisoglu, Tugba & Gercek, Yasin, 2020. "Optimal site selection for solar photovoltaic (PV) power plants using GIS and AHP: A case study of Malatya Province, Turkey," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 149(C), pages 565-576.
    8. Sward, Jeffrey A. & Nilson, Roberta S. & Katkar, Venktesh V. & Stedman, Richard C. & Kay, David L. & Ifft, Jennifer E. & Zhang, K. Max, 2021. "Integrating social considerations in multicriteria decision analysis for utility-scale solar photovoltaic siting," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 288(C).
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    10. Katkar, Venktesh V. & Sward, Jeffrey A. & Worsley, Alex & Zhang, K. Max, 2021. "Strategic land use analysis for solar energy development in New York State," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 173(C), pages 861-875.
    11. Günen, Mehmet Akif, 2021. "A comprehensive framework based on GIS-AHP for the installation of solar PV farms in Kahramanmaraş, Turkey," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 178(C), pages 212-225.
    12. Lindberg, O. & Birging, A. & Widén, J. & Lingfors, D., 2021. "PV park site selection for utility-scale solar guides combining GIS and power flow analysis: A case study on a Swedish municipality," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 282(PA).
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    14. Sofia Spyridonidou & Georgia Sismani & Eva Loukogeorgaki & Dimitra G. Vagiona & Hagit Ulanovsky & Daniel Madar, 2021. "Sustainable Spatial Energy Planning of Large-Scale Wind and PV Farms in Israel: A Collaborative and Participatory Planning Approach," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(3), pages 1-23, January.
    15. Lee, Sangik & Lee, Jong-hyuk & Jeong, Youngjoon & Kim, Dongsu & Seo, Byung-hun & Seo, Ye-jin & Kim, Taejin & Choi, Won, 2023. "Agrivoltaic system designing for sustainability and smart farming: Agronomic aspects and design criteria with safety assessment," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 341(C).
    16. Obane, Hideaki & Nagai, Yu & Asano, Kenji, 2020. "Assessing land use and potential conflict in solar and onshore wind energy in Japan," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 160(C), pages 842-851.
    17. Dimitra G. Vagiona, 2021. "Comparative Multicriteria Analysis Methods for Ranking Sites for Solar Farm Deployment: A Case Study in Greece," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(24), pages 1-23, December.
    18. Vladimír Bureš & Daniela Ponce & Pavel Čech & Karel Mls, 2019. "The effect of trial repetition and problem size on the consistency of decision making," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(5), pages 1-14, May.
    19. Sultan Al-Shammari & Wonsuk Ko & Essam A. Al Ammar & Majed A. Alotaibi & Hyeong-Jin Choi, 2021. "Optimal Decision-Making in Photovoltaic System Selection in Saudi Arabia," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(2), pages 1-18, January.
    20. Junedi, M.M. & Ludin, N.A. & Hamid, N.H. & Kathleen, P.R. & Hasila, J. & Ahmad Affandi, N.A., 2022. "Environmental and economic performance assessment of integrated conventional solar photovoltaic and agrophotovoltaic systems," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 168(C).

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