Optimal site selection for wind power plant using multi-criteria decision-making methods: A case study in eastern Iran

Abstract

Abstract Sustainable and renewable energy resources will play a significant role in the future of the 21st century. One of the most significant resources of sustainable energy is wind energy. Therefore, detection of the potential locations and selection of the optimal place to find a wind farm are a primary step toward using sustainable energy resources. In this research, the feasibility of establishing wind farms in three provinces in the east and north-east parts of Iran is studied using multiple criteria decision-making methods. Fifty proposed options to build a wind farm are ranked based on 13 effective criteria, including area, distance to power lines, distance to the substation, distance to a road, estimated capacity, distance to the city, altitude, population, population density, annual rainfall, average temperature, average wind speed and relative humidity by applying Shannon entropy weighting technique and using three methods of the simple additive weighting (SAW), technique for order of preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) and elimination and choice translating reality (ELECTRE). Shannon entropy weighting technique reveals that the criteria of distance to power transmission lines and relative humidity will have the most and least weights, respectively. The ranking results show that, based on the TOPSIS and ELECTRE methods, Gezi Bojnourd option is the best site and Neishabour Hesar Yazdan case is the worst site. Furthermore, Bashirabad Torbatjam case is the most desirable site in the SAW method. The sensitivity analysis results show that the minimum sensitivity to the criteria weights is recorded in the SAW method. On the contrary, ELECTRE method offers the most sensitivity and variation in ranking.