Sustainable siting of solar power installations in Mediterranean using a GIS/AHP approach

This study aims to present and test a methodology for clarifying and prioritizing, the most suitable locations for siting solar power installations. By employing Geographical Information Systems and the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP), the recommended sustainable siting areas for solar power generation farms siting are identified, allowing the application of a spatial multi-criteria decision-making approach. The methodology identifies the available areas for solar farms siting, based on exclusion criteria defined from the current legislation. Furthermore, the available siting areas are evaluated and ranked through a multi-criteria analysis, considering also the relative importance of the selected criteria, through the AHP implementation performed by involved energy-related groups. The developed methodology employs different types of criteria, such as techno-economic and socio-environmental, it takes into account the distinct opinions of different stakeholders and it enables the evaluation of different scenarios. Finally, the methodology was applied for the case study of the Regional Unit of Rethymno, where the results, in terms of the potential maximum power that can be produced from the highest priority areas are 530 MWp for photovoltaics and 30 MW for Concentrated Solar Power systems.