IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jeners/v16y2023i10p4245-d1152910.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

A CRITIC–TOPSIS Multi-Criteria Decision-Making Approach for Optimum Site Selection for Solar PV Farm

Author

Listed:
  • Imad Hassan

    (Renewable Energy Research Laboratory (RENERAL), Electrical Engineering Section, British Malaysian Institute, Universiti Kuala Lumpur, Selangor 53100, Malaysia
    Department of Energy Engineering Technology, University of Technology Nowshera, Nowshera 24100, Pakistan)

  • Ibrahim Alhamrouni

    (Renewable Energy Research Laboratory (RENERAL), Electrical Engineering Section, British Malaysian Institute, Universiti Kuala Lumpur, Selangor 53100, Malaysia)

  • Nurul Hanis Azhan

    (Renewable Energy Research Laboratory (RENERAL), Electrical Engineering Section, British Malaysian Institute, Universiti Kuala Lumpur, Selangor 53100, Malaysia)

Abstract

This research work proposes a new hybrid framework to assess suitable sites and technical potentials for large-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) systems by integrating two multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) techniques. The evaluation of sites for PV plants was performed using the MCDM method, taking into account a wide range of variables, including climate, technical, geographical, and economic variables, with factor weights determined using the CRITIC technique. Five Saudi Arabian cities with abundant solar radiation served as illustrations of this study’s framework. For classification, the TOPSIS method was employed to rank the five alternatives. The results show that Riyadh is ranked first with a performance score of 72%, followed by Jeddah with a performance score of 65%, and the remaining three cities, namely, Al Ahsa, Dammam, and Abha scored less than 50%. Lastly, the reliability and robustness of the results obtained were examined using sensitivity analysis. The findings of this study can be used to pinpoint possible places that could be used to build solar power plants and to promote the expansion of generating facilities and electrical grids.

Suggested Citation

  • 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.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:16:y:2023:i:10:p:4245-:d:1152910
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/16/10/4245/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/16/10/4245/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Wonsuk Ko & Essam Al-Ammar & Mohammad Almahmeed, 2019. "Development of Feed-in Tariff for PV in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(15), pages 1-12, July.
    2. Lian-hui Li & Rong Mo, 2015. "Production Task Queue Optimization Based on Multi-Attribute Evaluation for Complex Product Assembly Workshop," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(9), pages 1-24, September.
    3. 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.
    4. 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.
    5. 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).
    6. Bhutto, Abdul Waheed & Bazmi, Aqeel Ahmed & Zahedi, Gholamreza, 2012. "Greener energy: Issues and challenges for Pakistan-hydel power prospective," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 16(5), pages 2732-2746.
    7. Zambrano-Asanza, S. & Quiros-Tortos, J. & Franco, John F., 2021. "Optimal site selection for photovoltaic power plants using a GIS-based multi-criteria decision making and spatial overlay with electric load," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 143(C).
    8. Praveen, R.P. & Keloth, Vishnu & Abo-Khalil, Ahmed G. & Alghamdi, Ali S. & Eltamaly, Ali M. & Tlili, Iskander, 2020. "An insight to the energy policy of GCC countries to meet renewable energy targets of 2030," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 147(C).
    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. 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.
    11. Aleksandras Krylovas & Rūta Dadelienė & Natalja Kosareva & Stanislav Dadelo, 2019. "Comparative Evaluation and Ranking of the European Countries Based on the Interdependence between Human Development and Internal Security Indicators," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 7(3), pages 1-18, March.
    12. Ma, Jian & Fan, Zhi-Ping & Huang, Li-Hua, 1999. "A subjective and objective integrated approach to determine attribute weights," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 112(2), pages 397-404, January.
    13. Haddad, Brahim & Díaz-Cuevas, Pilar & Ferreira, Paula & Djebli, Ahmed & Pérez, Juan Pedro, 2021. "Mapping concentrated solar power site suitability in Algeria," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 168(C), pages 838-853.
    14. Chia-Nan Wang & Jui-Chung Kao & Yen-Hui Wang & Van Thanh Nguyen & Viet Tinh Nguyen & Syed Tam Husain, 2021. "A Multicriteria Decision-Making Model for the Selection of Suitable Renewable Energy Sources," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 9(12), pages 1-17, June.
    15. Bhutto, Abdul Waheed & Bazmi, Aqeel Ahmed & Zahedi, Gholamreza, 2012. "Greener energy: Issues and challenges for Pakistan—Solar energy prospective," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 16(5), pages 2762-2780.
    16. Perpiña Castillo, Carolina & Batista e Silva, Filipe & Lavalle, Carlo, 2016. "An assessment of the regional potential for solar power generation in EU-28," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 86-99.
    17. Ibrahim Mosly & Anas A. Makki, 2018. "Current Status and Willingness to Adopt Renewable Energy Technologies in Saudi Arabia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-20, November.
    18. 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.
    19. Hovanov, Nikolai V. & Kolari, James W. & Sokolov, Mikhail V., 2008. "Deriving weights from general pairwise comparison matrices," Mathematical Social Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 55(2), pages 205-220, March.
    20. Carrión, J. Arán & Espín Estrella, A. & Aznar Dols, F. & Ridao, A. Ramos, 2008. "The electricity production capacity of photovoltaic power plants and the selection of solar energy sites in Andalusia (Spain)," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 33(4), pages 545-552.
    21. 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.
    22. 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.
    23. Sreenath, S. & Sudhakar, K. & Yusop, A.F., 2020. "Technical assessment of captive solar power plant: A case study of Senai airport, Malaysia," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 152(C), pages 849-866.
    24. Løken, Espen, 2007. "Use of multicriteria decision analysis methods for energy planning problems," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 11(7), pages 1584-1595, September.
    25. 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.
    26. Sławomira Hajduk & Dorota Jelonek, 2021. "A Decision-Making Approach Based on TOPSIS Method for Ranking Smart Cities in the Context of Urban Energy," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-23, May.
    27. Hassan, Aakash & Al-Abdeli, Yasir M. & Masek, Martin & Bass, Octavian, 2022. "Optimal sizing and energy scheduling of grid-supplemented solar PV systems with battery storage: Sensitivity of reliability and financial constraints," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 238(PA).
    28. 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.
    29. Ayşegül Tuş & Esra Aytaç Adalı, 2019. "The new combination with CRITIC and WASPAS methods for the time and attendance software selection problem," OPSEARCH, Springer;Operational Research Society of India, vol. 56(2), pages 528-538, June.
    30. Wu, Yunna & Zhang, Buyuan & Wu, Chenghao & Zhang, Ting & Liu, Fangtong, 2019. "Optimal site selection for parabolic trough concentrating solar power plant using extended PROMETHEE method: A case in China," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 143(C), pages 1910-1927.
    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. 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.
    2. 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.
    3. 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).
    4. 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.
    5. 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.
    6. Sahoo, Somadutta & Zuidema, Christian & van Stralen, Joost N.P. & Sijm, Jos & Faaij, André, 2022. "Detailed spatial analysis of renewables’ potential and heat: A study of Groningen Province in the northern Netherlands," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 318(C).
    7. 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.
    8. 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.
    9. Shao, Meng & Zhao, Yuanxu & Sun, Jinwei & Han, Zhixin & Shao, Zhuxiao, 2023. "A decision framework for tidal current power plant site selection based on GIS-MCDM: A case study in China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 262(PB).
    10. José Eduardo Tafula & Constantino Dário Justo & Pedro Moura & Jérôme Mendes & Ana Soares, 2023. "Multicriteria Decision-Making Approach for Optimum Site Selection for Off-Grid Solar Photovoltaic Microgrids in Mozambique," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(6), pages 1-41, March.
    11. 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.
    12. Romero-Ramos, J.A. & Gil, J.D. & Cardemil, J.M. & Escobar, R.A. & Arias, I. & Pérez-García, M., 2023. "A GIS-AHP approach for determining the potential of solar energy to meet the thermal demand in southeastern Spain productive enclaves," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).
    13. 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.
    14. 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.
    15. 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.
    16. 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.
    17. 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.
    18. 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.
    19. 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.
    20. 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.

    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:16:y:2023:i:10:p:4245-:d:1152910. 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.