Research on Site Suitability for Solar and Wind Energy in Developing Countries Using Combination of GIS- AHP; A Case Study of Pakistan /

Abstract

Shift to complete dependence on alternative energy is part of almost every developed country in near future. Developing countries need to follow suit and start developing their energy portfolio towards green energy. Pakistan is among developing countries currently fighting climate change and ongoing power crisis. With huge untapped renewable energy potential and Government of Pakistan’s Alternative Renewable Energy policy (ARE), it is high time to develop planning structure for alternative energy. This dissertation proposes a methodology for comprehensive exploitation of potential available in a given country combining the use of Geographical Information System (GIS) and Multi Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA). Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) of MCDA allows ranking of criteria based on their relative importance to considered scenario. A total of eight critical sub-criteria are considered for each scenario from the core criteria (geography, climate and location). Two scenarios are presented consisting of solar PV and wind energy utility scale farms establishment. A novel scenario is also proposed for small scale solar PV implementation for far-off areas potentially deprived of electricity access based on the locational criteria Application of GIS allows manipulation of satellite driven data in form of criteria maps. Allocation of priority weights to criteria maps, obtained from AHP, provides final suitability maps for site selection. Restriction criteria were applied to narrow down high potential sites and exclude areas with subpar importance to related scenario. To ensure exploitation of resourceful areas, strict categorization of sub-criteria was considered in solar and wind sites scenario resulting in fewer but higher potential sites and lenient classification in case of small scale solar PV for far off areas, ensuring wide range of areas for implementation purposes. The final suitability maps for each scenario with suitability scale allows quantified illustration of sites with respect to their exploitable potential.