Optimal Selection of Equipment for a Grid-Connected Photovoltaic Solar Power Plant Using the Analytical Hierarchy Process

The present study was conducted to optimally select equipment for a grid-connected photovoltaic solar power station using the method of analytical hierarchy process (AHP) and the Expert Choice software. AHP is one of the most widely used multi-criteria decision-making tools. Criteria and sub-criteria such as efficiency, price, number of years of warranty, and amount of equipment were considered. For selection of optimal equipment using the AHP method, realized in Expert Choice, pairwise comparison is made between the sets for weighting once the hierarchical levels, including the goal, criteria, sub-criteria, and alternatives (intended equipment), are specified. As the sets are weighted, the compatibility of judgments is analyzed, which must be less than 0.1. The research addressed the equipment available over the market in Iran. Given the measures considered here, 500W Mono Trina Solar was selected as the best panel, and 25KW Growatt MID KTL3-X was the best inverter. The other alternatives were assigned the next priorities based on the corresponding weights. Moreover, sensitivity analysis was made on the main criteria, and the effect of parameter weight on the alternatives was assessed.