Integrating fuzzy AHP and GIS to prioritize sites for the solar plant installation

Selection of site is the most fundamental and crucial decision, in the process of setting up a solar power plant. Since several factors influence the site selection process, multi criteria analysis is used to resolve this problem. In this study, seven districts of Rajasthan in India are considered as different alternatives for the installation of solar power plant. They are evaluated over few crucial criteria´s such as solar radiation, land availability, water availability, cost of land, population benefitted, transmission losses and number of rainy days, which have a great impact on power generation. As the data corresponding to the criteria´s considered is not available, thematic map is used as the raw data, with Arc GIS as interface, baseline data, corresponding to the criteria´s for all study areas is extracted. A multi-criteria decision making technique, is used to choose the best suitable site for installation of solar power plant. Based on the literature, Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Process (Fuzzy AHP), which is advanced and a simple method, is used in this study for the location allocation of solar plant. Results dictate that Bikaner, which is one among the alternatives considered, is the optimal site for the installation for the solar plant in Rajasthan.