Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis to Evaluate the Geographic Potential of Alternative Photovoltaic Types

Bibliographic Details
Title: Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis to Evaluate the Geographic Potential of Alternative Photovoltaic Types
Authors: Franziska Hübl, Franz Welscher, Johannes Scholz
Source: ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information, Vol 13, Iss 8, p 269 (2024)
Publisher Information: MDPI AG, 2024.
Publication Year: 2024
Collection: LCC:Geography (General)
Subject Terms: multi-criteria decision making, spatial analysis, photovoltaic, green energy, Geography (General), G1-922
More Details: This paper contributes to the expansion of green energy production, which is being pursued in order to mitigate climate change and carbon emissions from energy production. It addresses the delineation of areas that are suitable for the application of photovoltaics in the context of agricultural areas, water bodies, and parking spaces. Three specific photovoltaic types are examined in order to find out which criteria influence their geographic potential and whether spatial multi-criteria decision analysis methods are suitable for identifying suitable areas. The proposed approach consists of four steps: (1) collecting factors through expert interviews and questionnaires; (2) mapping the criteria to the spatial datasets; (3) deriving weighted scores for individual criteria through expert interviews; (4) applying the multi-criteria decision analysis method to compute and aggregate the final scores. We test our methodology at selected sites in the state of Styria, Austria. The test sites represent the topographical characteristics of the state and are about 5% of the size of Styria, approximately 820 km2. The key contributions are a weighted set of criteria that are relevant for the geographic potential of alternative photovoltaic types and the developed methodology to determine this potential.
Document Type: article
File Description: electronic resource
Language: English
ISSN: 2220-9964
Relation: https://www.mdpi.com/2220-9964/13/8/269; https://doaj.org/toc/2220-9964
DOI: 10.3390/ijgi13080269
Access URL: https://doaj.org/article/ce00bce0abd24e51baed5b7f41a5094b
Accession Number: edsdoj.00bce0abd24e51baed5b7f41a5094b
Database: Directory of Open Access Journals
More Details
ISSN:22209964
DOI:10.3390/ijgi13080269
Published in:ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information
Language:English