Investigating the Pollution of Renewable Power Plants with AHP, TOPSIS and VIKOR Analysis Approach

Electricity production and consumption are considered as two of the most important factors and premises in the growth and development of every country. We need to build power plants for electricity production given the high costs and investment needed for the construction of each power plant in electricity industry, it is necessary to select these power plants according to a wide range of criteria.

Using economic, environmental and technical criteria, this study attempts to prioritize different power plants in Iran via AHP, TOPSIS and VIKOR method.

Environmental pollution indices, initial investment per kilowatt hour of electricity generation, maintenance costs, easy access to spare parts and the possibility of developing and increasing capacity were introduced the main indicators affecting prioritization of the power plants in Iran. In general, according to all indices studied in this study, environmental pollution has the most impact on the prioritization of power generation plants. Also, the indexes related to the amount of initial investment per kWh, maintenance costs, the possibility of developing and increasing capacity, and easy access to spare parts were considered as the most important factors.

The findings from the prioritization by each methods of Multiple Attribute Decision Making show that wind plants have the top priority in the strategic selection of electricity plant, and solar energy. Hydropower, small-scale (scattered), gas, steam, combined cycle and diesel respectively are the next priorities .Therefore, it is suggested that government and political organizations start to make foundations and infrastructure required for utilization of such energies in power plants given the illustrated prioritization.