Potential Evaluation for Establishment of Solar Power Plants Using Multi-Criteria Decision Making Methods: OWA and TOPSIS (case study: Qazvin-Iran)

With economic development and population growth, the global need for energy is increasing steadily. Fossil fuels are the most commonly used fuel in the world, but their resources are limited. Therefore, for sustainable development, the need to use renewable energy sources is felt more than ever. Solar energy recognized as the most important and most affordable one. In Iran, the availability of suitable climate and sunlight in many areas and seasons has provided a good basis for using this kind of energy. The purpose of this research is to utilize a MCDM approach for evaluating the potential of different regions in Qazvin province for the establishment of a solar power station. In this regard, several evaluation criteria were identified and their importance was determined by the AHP method and then their uncertainty is modeled using fuzzy theory. Then, a potential map was developed using OWA and TOPSIS methods. Finally, the result of utilizing AHP-OWA method is compared with AHP-TOPSIS. Comparison of the weights of indicators shows the weather factors as important ones. In addition, according to the research findings, the Takestan region was recognized as a good area for establishing a solar power plant. Based on previous studies, construction of a 100MW solar power station in this area has been confirmed. This means that the proposed method is acceptable to be used by decision-makers as an effective tool.