Evaluation of solar power plant site selection using the AHP-VIKOR hybrid method in Türkiye

Energy is a need that emerged with the existence of humanity and is growing day by day. Electricity is one of the most important secondary energy sources. Today, due to population growth and increased production, the demand for energy is also increasing. Due to the negative effects of fossil fuels on the environment and their limited nature, the interest in new energy sources in the world is gaining positive momentum. Solar energy is among the top renewable resources due to its sustainability and high usage. Our country can reduce its dependence on foreign energy by increasing solar energy. The solar energy potential atlas can be used to determine suitable places for establishing solar power plants in Turkey. However, this atlas was created only with values such as duration of sunshine and radiation. Although an atlas created with these values is insufficient, more accurate results can be obtained by analyzing various criteria related to site selection. In order to obtain as much solar energy as possible, it is essential to choose the location of the solar power plant. SPP (Solar Power Plant) installation costs are high. Installation feasibility studies are critical due to the high cost of SPP installation. Site selection is the first of the parameters used in feasibility studies. Selecting suitable sites for the SPP requires a regional assessment considering technical, economic, social, and environmental aspects. This study, three locations where solar power plants can be established were discussed and the multi-criteria decision-making method was used to decide the optimum one among these provinces. Economic, social, technical and geographical criteria were determined as main criteria and as sub-criteria, distance to energy transmission line, regional incentives, land cost, sunshine duration, amount of land radiation, slope, temperature, distance to fault lines, amount of precipitation, distance to residential area, profitable day and labor force is defined. AHP-VIKOR hybrid method was used to select the most optimum location according to 12 sub-criteria were defined under these main criteria. The criteria weights were found using the AHP method, and the alternatives were ranked using the VIKOR method. The research concluded that Nevsehir is the best location for the solar power plant. Keywords: Solar Power Energy, Solar Power, Site Selection, Renewable Energy