Optimal siting of solar desalination plants in Crete, Greece employing a GIS/MCDM approach

Water scarcity, amongst the crucial consequences of climate change, leads to more and more dry areas, causing various socio-economic problems, while water demands are higher than ever. To address this challenge, the scientific community turns to alternative energy sources combined with desalination systems. In light of everything mentioned above, this study developed a methodology for the site suitability of solar desalination plants on the island of Crete, Greece. A multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) approach was used to evaluate a diversity of criteria selected as the most suitable for the spatial planning of solar desalination plants, while GIS was applied to produce the dynamic maps. After the definition of the exclusion areas, followed the classification of the evaluation criteria in a suitability scale from the least suitable to the most appropriate areas. To determine the relative importance of the evaluation criteria, a weighted analysis was taking place by assuming several scenarios. Finally, GIS was exploited to produce the suitability maps. The adoption of the above methodology provided crucial outcomes, valuable for the decision-making process of governors, policymakers, engineers and researchers, especially during the discussion with local communities, which are to be affected directly.