IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jeners/v9y2016i8p648-d76089.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Solar Farm Suitability Using Geographic Information System Fuzzy Sets and Analytic Hierarchy Processes: Case Study of Ulleung Island, Korea

Author

Listed:
  • Jangwon Suh

    (John & Willie Leone Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA)

  • Jeffrey R. S. Brownson

    (John & Willie Leone Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA)

Abstract

Solar farm suitability in remote areas will involve a multi-criteria evaluation (MCE) process, particularly well suited for the geographic information system (GIS) environment. Photovoltaic (PV) solar farm criteria were evaluated for an island-based case region having complex topographic and regulatory criteria, along with high demand for low-carbon local electricity production: Ulleung Island, Korea. Constraint variables that identified areas forbidden to PV farm development were consolidated into a single binary constraint layer (e.g., environmental regulation, ecological protection, future land use). Six factor variables were selected as influential on-site suitability within the geospatial database to seek out increased annual average power performance and reduced potential investment costs, forming new criteria layers for site suitability: solar irradiation, sunshine hours, average temperature in summer, proximity to transmission line, proximity to roads, and slope. Each factor variable was normalized via a fuzzy membership function (FMF) and parameter setting based on the local characteristics and criteria for a fixed axis PV system. Representative weighting of the relative importance for each factor variable was assigned via pairwise comparison completed by experts. A suitability index ( SI ) with six factor variables was derived using a weighted fuzzy summation method. Sensitivity analysis was conducted to assess four different SI based on the development scenarios (i.e., the combination of factors being considered). From the resulting map, three highly suitable regions were suggested and validated by comparison with satellite images to confirm the candidate sites for solar farm development. The GIS-MCE method proposed can also be applicable widely to other PV solar farm site selection projects with appropriate adaption for local variables.

Suggested Citation

  • Jangwon Suh & Jeffrey R. S. Brownson, 2016. "Solar Farm Suitability Using Geographic Information System Fuzzy Sets and Analytic Hierarchy Processes: Case Study of Ulleung Island, Korea," Energies, MDPI, vol. 9(8), pages 1-24, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:9:y:2016:i:8:p:648-:d:76089
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/9/8/648/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/9/8/648/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Liu, Hua-Yueh & Wu, Sung-De, 2010. "An assessment on the planning and construction of an island renewable energy system – A case study of Kinmen Island," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 35(12), pages 2723-2731.
    2. Wang, Jiang-Jiang & Jing, You-Yin & Zhang, Chun-Fa & Zhao, Jun-Hong, 2009. "Review on multi-criteria decision analysis aid in sustainable energy decision-making," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 13(9), pages 2263-2278, December.
    3. Sakaguchi, Takushi & Tabata, Tomohiro, 2015. "100% electric power potential of PV, wind power, and biomass energy in Awaji island Japan," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 1156-1165.
    4. Jinyoung Song & Yosoon Choi, 2016. "Analysis of the Potential for Use of Floating Photovoltaic Systems on Mine Pit Lakes: Case Study at the Ssangyong Open-Pit Limestone Mine in Korea," Energies, MDPI, vol. 9(2), pages 1-13, February.
    5. Charabi, Yassine & Gastli, Adel, 2011. "PV site suitability analysis using GIS-based spatial fuzzy multi-criteria evaluation," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 36(9), pages 2554-2561.
    6. Gastli, Adel & Charabi, Yassine & Zekri, Slim, 2010. "GIS-based assessment of combined CSP electric power and seawater desalination plant for Duqum--Oman," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 14(2), pages 821-827, February.
    7. Akella, A.K. & Saini, R.P. & Sharma, M.P., 2009. "Social, economical and environmental impacts of renewable energy systems," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 34(2), pages 390-396.
    8. Song, Jinyoung & Choi, Yosoon, 2015. "Design of photovoltaic systems to power aerators for natural purification of acid mine drainage," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 759-766.
    9. Sánchez-Lozano, Juan M. & Teruel-Solano, Jerónimo & Soto-Elvira, Pedro L. & Socorro García-Cascales, M., 2013. "Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) methods for the evaluation of solar farms locations: Case study in south-eastern Spain," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 24(C), pages 544-556.
    10. Arán Carrión, J. & Espín Estrella, A. & Aznar Dols, F. & Zamorano Toro, M. & Rodríguez, M. & Ramos Ridao, A., 2008. "Environmental decision-support systems for evaluating the carrying capacity of land areas: Optimal site selection for grid-connected photovoltaic power plants," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 12(9), pages 2358-2380, December.
    11. Gastli, Adel & Charabi, Yassine, 2010. "Solar electricity prospects in Oman using GIS-based solar radiation maps," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 14(2), pages 790-797, February.
    12. Dincer, Ibrahim, 1999. "Environmental impacts of energy," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 27(14), pages 845-854, December.
    13. Sánchez-Lozano, Juan M. & Henggeler Antunes, Carlos & García-Cascales, M. Socorro & Dias, Luis C., 2014. "GIS-based photovoltaic solar farms site selection using ELECTRE-TRI: Evaluating the case for Torre Pacheco, Murcia, Southeast of Spain," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 478-494.
    14. Uemura, Yoshimitsu & Kai, Takami & Natori, Rintarou & Takahashi, Takeshige & Hatate, Yasuo & Yoshida, Masahiro, 2004. "Potential of renewable energy sources and its applications in Yakushima Island," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 29(4), pages 581-591.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. 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).
    2. Vrînceanu, Alexandra & Dumitrașcu, Monica & Kucsicsa, Gheorghe, 2022. "Site suitability for photovoltaic farms and current investment in Romania," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 187(C), pages 320-330.
    3. Okunlola, Ayodeji & Davis, Matthew & Kumar, Amit, 2022. "The development of an assessment framework to determine the technical hydrogen production potential from wind and solar energy," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 166(C).
    4. Ciro Figueiredo & Caroline Mota, 2019. "Learning Preferences in a Spatial Multiple Criteria Decision Approach: An Application in Public Security Planning," International Journal of Information Technology & Decision Making (IJITDM), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 18(04), pages 1403-1432, July.
    5. Wang, Peng & Zhang, Shuainan & Pu, Yanru & Cao, Shuchao & Zhang, Yuhu, 2021. "Estimation of photovoltaic power generation potential in 2020 and 2030 using land resource changes: An empirical study from China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 219(C).
    6. Kwak, Yoonshin & Deal, Brian & Heavisides, Tom, 2021. "A large scale multi criteria suitability analysis for identifying solar development potential: A decision support approach for the state of Illinois, USA," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 177(C), pages 554-567.
    7. Al Garni, Hassan Z. & Awasthi, Anjali, 2017. "Solar PV power plant site selection using a GIS-AHP based approach with application in Saudi Arabia," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 206(C), pages 1225-1240.
    8. Seker, Sukran & Kahraman, Cengiz, 2021. "Socio-economic evaluation model for sustainable solar PV panels using a novel integrated MCDM methodology: A case in Turkey," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    9. Finn, Thomas & McKenzie, Paul, 2020. "A high-resolution suitability index for solar farm location in complex landscapes," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 158(C), pages 520-533.
    10. Jangwon Suh & Yosoon Choi, 2017. "Methods for Converting Monthly Total Irradiance Data into Hourly Data to Estimate Electric Power Production from Photovoltaic Systems: A Comparative Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(7), pages 1-19, July.
    11. 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.
    12. Wenjun Chen & Yanlei Zhu & Meng Yang & Jiahai Yuan, 2017. "Optimal Site Selection of Wind-Solar Complementary Power Generation Project for a Large-Scale Plug-In Charging Station," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(11), pages 1-22, October.
    13. Coruhlu, Yakup Emre & Solgun, Necmettin & Baser, Volkan & Terzi, Fatih, 2022. "Revealing the solar energy potential by integration of GIS and AHP in order to compare decisions of the land use on the environmental plans," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 113(C).
    14. 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.
    15. Salim, Daniel Henrique Carneiro & de Sousa Mello, Caio César & Franco, Guilherme Gandra & de Albuquerque Nóbrega, Rodrigo Affonso & de Paula, Eduardo Coutinho & Fonseca, Bráulio Magalhães & Nero, Marc, 2023. "Unveiling Fernando de Noronha Island's photovoltaic potential with unmanned aerial survey and irradiation modeling," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 337(C).
    16. Chia-Nan Wang & Van Thanh Nguyen & Hoang Tuyet Nhi Thai & Duy Hung Duong, 2018. "Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) Approaches for Solar Power Plant Location Selection in Viet Nam," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-27, June.
    17. Imad Hassan & Ibrahim Alhamrouni & Nurul Hanis Azhan, 2023. "A CRITIC–TOPSIS Multi-Criteria Decision-Making Approach for Optimum Site Selection for Solar PV Farm," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(10), pages 1-26, May.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Yushchenko, Alisa & de Bono, Andrea & Chatenoux, Bruno & Kumar Patel, Martin & Ray, Nicolas, 2018. "GIS-based assessment of photovoltaic (PV) and concentrated solar power (CSP) generation potential in West Africa," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 81(P2), pages 2088-2103.
    2. Al Garni, Hassan Z. & Awasthi, Anjali, 2017. "Solar PV power plant site selection using a GIS-AHP based approach with application in Saudi Arabia," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 206(C), pages 1225-1240.
    3. Sánchez-Lozano, J.M. & García-Cascales, M.S. & Lamata, M.T., 2014. "Identification and selection of potential sites for onshore wind farms development in Region of Murcia, Spain," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 311-324.
    4. Hossein Yousefi & Hamed Hafeznia & Amin Yousefi-Sahzabi, 2018. "Spatial Site Selection for Solar Power Plants Using a GIS-Based Boolean-Fuzzy Logic Model: A Case Study of Markazi Province, Iran," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-18, June.
    5. Aly, Ahmed & Jensen, Steen Solvang & Pedersen, Anders Branth, 2017. "Solar power potential of Tanzania: Identifying CSP and PV hot spots through a GIS multicriteria decision making analysis," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 113(C), pages 159-175.
    6. Verônica Wilma B. Azevêdo & Ana Lúcia B. Candeias & Chigueru Tiba, 2017. "Location Study of Solar Thermal Power Plant in the State of Pernambuco Using Geoprocessing Technologies and Multiple-Criteria Analysis," Energies, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-23, July.
    7. 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.
    8. Sabo, Mahmoud Lurwan & Mariun, Norman & Hizam, Hashim & Mohd Radzi, Mohd Amran & Zakaria, Azmi, 2016. "Spatial energy predictions from large-scale photovoltaic power plants located in optimal sites and connected to a smart grid in Peninsular Malaysia," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 79-94.
    9. Doljak, Dejan & Stanojević, Gorica, 2017. "Evaluation of natural conditions for site selection of ground-mounted photovoltaic power plants in Serbia," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 291-300.
    10. Shao, Meng & Han, Zhixin & Sun, Jinwei & Xiao, Chengsi & Zhang, Shulei & Zhao, Yuanxu, 2020. "A review of multi-criteria decision making applications for renewable energy site selection," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 157(C), pages 377-403.
    11. Giamalaki, Marina & Tsoutsos, Theocharis, 2019. "Sustainable siting of solar power installations in Mediterranean using a GIS/AHP approach," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 141(C), pages 64-75.
    12. Saeidi, Reza & Noorollahi, Younes & Aghaz, Javad & Chang, Soowon, 2023. "FUZZY-TOPSIS method for defining optimal parameters and finding suitable sites for PV power plants," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 282(C).
    13. Ghasemi, Golara & Noorollahi, Younes & Alavi, Hamed & Marzband, Mousa & Shahbazi, Mahmoud, 2019. "Theoretical and technical potential evaluation of solar power generation in Iran," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 138(C), pages 1250-1261.
    14. Finn, Thomas & McKenzie, Paul, 2020. "A high-resolution suitability index for solar farm location in complex landscapes," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 158(C), pages 520-533.
    15. Noorollahi, Younes & Ghenaatpisheh Senani, Ali & Fadaei, Ahmad & Simaee, Mobina & Moltames, Rahim, 2022. "A framework for GIS-based site selection and technical potential evaluation of PV solar farm using Fuzzy-Boolean logic and AHP multi-criteria decision-making approach," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 186(C), pages 89-104.
    16. Al-Badi, A.H. & Malik, A. & Gastli, A., 2011. "Sustainable energy usage in Oman—Opportunities and barriers," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 15(8), pages 3780-3788.
    17. Anwarzai, Mohammad Abed & Nagasaka, Ken, 2017. "Utility-scale implementable potential of wind and solar energies for Afghanistan using GIS multi-criteria decision analysis," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 150-160.
    18. Alami Merrouni, Ahmed & Elwali Elalaoui, Fakhreddine & Mezrhab, Ahmed & Mezrhab, Abdelhamid & Ghennioui, Abdellatif, 2018. "Large scale PV sites selection by combining GIS and Analytical Hierarchy Process. Case study: Eastern Morocco," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 863-873.
    19. Sofia Spyridonidou & Eva Loukogeorgaki & Dimitra G. Vagiona & Teresa Bertrand, 2022. "Towards a Sustainable Spatial Planning Approach for PV Site Selection in Portugal," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(22), pages 1-22, November.
    20. Zografidou, Eleni & Petridis, Konstantinos & Petridis, Nikolaos E. & Arabatzis, Garyfallos, 2017. "A financial approach to renewable energy production in Greece using goal programming," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 37-51.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:9:y:2016:i:8:p:648-:d:76089. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.