IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/renene/v133y2019icp1201-1219.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Multi-criteria GIS-based modelling technique for identifying potential solar farm sites: A case study in Mauritius

Author

Listed:
  • Doorga, Jay R.S.
  • Rughooputh, Soonil D.D.V.
  • Boojhawon, Ravindra

Abstract

Determining economically viable and highly efficient strategic locations for utility-scale solar power plants is a costly procedure that depends on several factors. This paper investigates the spatial suitability for installations of ground-mounted solar farms based on legal, social, technical, economic, environmental and cultural perspectives through the use of Geographic Information System (GIS) analysis combined with Multi-criteria Decision Making (MCDM) technique. A set of six exclusion criteria are identified and removed from the map layer considered exploitable for construction. The Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) is then used to determine the weights of nine selected evaluation criteria found to influence the placements of the farms. Proximity raster layers were derived from features including road network and high transmission lines, overlain with a 10 m × 10 m raster terrain layers which includes elevation, slope and aspect and finally combined with interpolated raster dataset of climatological parameters comprising of global solar radiation, sunshine duration, air temperature and relative humidity. This combinatorial process through the Weighted Linear Combination (WLC) technique generated a high resolution solar resource potential atlas classifying regions on the island from high to low potential for solar farm placement. Further analysis of highly suitable sites with aerial images of the localities of interest resulted in the identification of 3 best sites all situated in the northern plains of the island. The approach demonstrated is expected to help reduce time, money and resources presently allocated towards identifying and assessing hot spots for the construction of solar power plants in Mauritius.

Suggested Citation

  • Doorga, Jay R.S. & Rughooputh, Soonil D.D.V. & Boojhawon, Ravindra, 2019. "Multi-criteria GIS-based modelling technique for identifying potential solar farm sites: A case study in Mauritius," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 133(C), pages 1201-1219.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:renene:v:133:y:2019:i:c:p:1201-1219
    DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2018.08.105
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960148118310553
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.renene.2018.08.105?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Moner-Girona, M. & Ghanadan, R. & Solano-Peralta, M. & Kougias, I. & Bódis, K. & Huld, T. & Szabó, S., 2016. "Adaptation of Feed-in Tariff for remote mini-grids: Tanzania as an illustrative case," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 306-318.
    2. Sándor Szabó & Magda Moner-Girona & Ioannis Kougias & Rob Bailis & Katalin Bódis, 2016. "Identification of advantageous electricity generation options in sub-Saharan Africa integrating existing resources," Nature Energy, Nature, vol. 1(10), pages 1-8, October.
    3. 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.
    4. Shirley, Rebekah & Kammen, Daniel, 2013. "Renewable energy sector development in the Caribbean: Current trends and lessons from history," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 244-252.
    5. Baoan Song & Qiyu Sun & Ying Li & Chuanqi Que, 2016. "Evaluating the Sustainability of Community-Based Long-Term Care Programmes: A Hybrid Multi-Criteria Decision Making Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(7), pages 1-19, July.
    6. Thomas Huld & Ana M. Gracia Amillo, 2015. "Estimating PV Module Performance over Large Geographical Regions: The Role of Irradiance, Air Temperature, Wind Speed and Solar Spectrum," Energies, MDPI, vol. 8(6), pages 1-23, June.
    7. 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.
    8. Ehsan Noorollahi & Dawud Fadai & Mohsen Akbarpour Shirazi & Seyed Hassan Ghodsipour, 2016. "Land Suitability Analysis for Solar Farms Exploitation Using GIS and Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (FAHP)—A Case Study of Iran," Energies, MDPI, vol. 9(8), pages 1-24, August.
    9. Sperling, Karl, 2017. "How does a pioneer community energy project succeed in practice? The case of the Samsø Renewable Energy Island," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 884-897.
    10. 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.
    11. Zoghi, Mahmood & Houshang Ehsani, Amir & Sadat, Mahdis & javad Amiri, Mohammad & Karimi, Sepideh, 2017. "Optimization solar site selection by fuzzy logic model and weighted linear combination method in arid and semi-arid region: A case study Isfahan-IRAN," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 68(P2), pages 986-996.
    12. Szabó, Sándor & Bódis, Katalin & Kougias, Ioannis & Moner-Girona, Magda & Jäger-Waldau, Arnulf & Barton, Gábor & Szabó, László, 2017. "A methodology for maximizing the benefits of solar landfills on closed sites," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 1291-1300.
    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. 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.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Shorabeh, Saman Nadizadeh & Firozjaei, Mohammad Karimi & Nematollahi, Omid & Firozjaei, Hamzeh Karimi & Jelokhani-Niaraki, Mohammadreza, 2019. "A risk-based multi-criteria spatial decision analysis for solar power plant site selection in different climates: A case study in Iran," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 143(C), pages 958-973.
    2. Ana Therese A. Levosada & Renz Paolo T. Ogena & Jan Ray V. Santos & Louis Angelo M. Danao, 2022. "Mapping of Suitable Sites for Concentrated Solar Power Plants in the Philippines Using Geographic Information System and Analytic Hierarchy Process," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-19, September.
    3. 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.
    4. Jalil Heidary Dahooie & Ali Husseinzadeh Kashan & Zahra Shoaei Naeini & Amir Salar Vanaki & Edmundas Kazimieras Zavadskas & Zenonas Turskis, 2022. "A Hybrid Multi-Criteria-Decision-Making Aggregation Method and Geographic Information System for Selecting Optimal Solar Power Plants in Iran," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-20, April.
    5. 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.
    6. Saraswat, S.K. & Digalwar, Abhijeet K. & Yadav, S.S. & Kumar, Gaurav, 2021. "MCDM and GIS based modelling technique for assessment of solar and wind farm locations in India," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 169(C), pages 865-884.
    7. 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.
    8. 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.
    9. 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.
    10. Jesús A. Prieto-Amparán & Alfredo Pinedo-Alvarez & Carlos R. Morales-Nieto & María C. Valles-Aragón & Alan Álvarez-Holguín & Federico Villarreal-Guerrero, 2021. "A Regional GIS-Assisted Multi-Criteria Evaluation of Site-Suitability for the Development of Solar Farms," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-19, February.
    11. 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.
    12. 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.
    13. 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.
    14. 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.
    15. Doorga, Jay R.S. & Hall, Jim W. & Eyre, Nick, 2022. "Geospatial multi-criteria analysis for identifying optimum wind and solar sites in Africa: Towards effective power sector decarbonization," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).
    16. Huaping Sun & Rehmat Ullah Awan & Muhammad Atif Nawaz & Muhammad Mohsin & Abdul Khaliq Rasheed & Nadeem Iqbal, 2021. "Assessing the socio-economic viability of solar commercialization and electrification in south Asian countries," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 23(7), pages 9875-9897, July.
    17. Rediske, Graciele & Siluk, Julio Cezar M. & Michels, Leandro & Rigo, Paula D. & Rosa, Carmen B. & Cugler, Gilberto, 2020. "Multi-criteria decision-making model for assessment of large photovoltaic farms in Brazil," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 197(C).
    18. 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).
    19. 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.
    20. 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.

    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:eee:renene:v:133:y:2019:i:c:p:1201-1219. 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: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/renewable-energy .

    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.