IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v13y2021i14p7546-d589435.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Using a Multi-Criteria Model to Assess the Suitability of Potential Sites to Implement Off-Grid Solar PV Projects in South America

Author

Listed:
  • Laura M. Hinestroza-Olascuaga

    (Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Rovisco Pais 1, 1049-001 Lisbon, Portugal)

  • Pedro M. S. Carvalho

    (Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Rovisco Pais 1, 1049-001 Lisbon, Portugal
    INESC-ID, Rua Alves Redol 9, 1000-029 Lisbon, Portugal)

  • Célia M. S. Cardoso de Jesus

    (Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Rovisco Pais 1, 1049-001 Lisbon, Portugal
    INESC-ID, Rua Alves Redol 9, 1000-029 Lisbon, Portugal)

Abstract

The role of the private sector is essential in providing energy access to all by 2030. However, private investors often face the decision problem of deciding where to implement off-grid projects. This selection process can be considered a multifactorial task because it requires accounting not only for local conditions, technical constraints, and economic-financial feasibility but also for socio-cultural dynamics and environmental consequences. In this paper, we implemented a multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) method based on the Measuring Attractiveness by a Categorical Based Evaluation Technique (MACBETH) to assist in the selection of the most suitable location to implement off-grid solar PV projects in South America. Following a participatory process with the input of a decision-maker representing the private sector, we combined 13 criteria, within 5 dimensions, to evaluate the performance of three potential sites, namely Bolivia, Peru and Colombia. Based on an overall score associated with each alternative, we grouped them into three categories: highly sustainable, sustainable, and unsustainable. As a result, Colombia represents the highest sustainable option for a potential private investor. This methodology provides guidance not only to investors but also to local utility companies and policymakers assessing off-grid locations with electricity access deficits, in developing countries.

Suggested Citation

  • Laura M. Hinestroza-Olascuaga & Pedro M. S. Carvalho & Célia M. S. Cardoso de Jesus, 2021. "Using a Multi-Criteria Model to Assess the Suitability of Potential Sites to Implement Off-Grid Solar PV Projects in South America," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(14), pages 1-21, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:14:p:7546-:d:589435
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/14/7546/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/14/7546/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Gaona, E.E. & Trujillo, C.L. & Guacaneme, J.A., 2015. "Rural microgrids and its potential application in Colombia," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 125-137.
    2. Haddad, Brahim & Liazid, Abdelkrim & Ferreira, Paula, 2017. "A multi-criteria approach to rank renewables for the Algerian electricity system," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 462-472.
    3. Williams, Nathaniel J. & Jaramillo, Paulina & Taneja, Jay & Ustun, Taha Selim, 2015. "Enabling private sector investment in microgrid-based rural electrification in developing countries: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 1268-1281.
    4. Andrea A. Eras-Almeida & Miguel Fernández & Julio Eisman & José G. Martín & Estefanía Caamaño & Miguel A. Egido-Aguilera, 2019. "Lessons Learned from Rural Electrification Experiences with Third Generation Solar Home Systems in Latin America: Case Studies in Peru, Mexico, and Bolivia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(24), pages 1-24, December.
    5. Latinopoulos, D. & Kechagia, K., 2015. "A GIS-based multi-criteria evaluation for wind farm site selection. A regional scale application in Greece," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 550-560.
    6. Charabi, Yassine & Gastli, Adel, 2011. "PV site suitability analysis using GIS-based spatial fuzzy multi-criteria evaluation," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 36(9), pages 2554-2561.
    7. Cherni, Judith A. & Dyner, Isaac & Henao, Felipe & Jaramillo, Patricia & Smith, Ricardo & Font, Raul Olalde, 2007. "Energy supply for sustainable rural livelihoods. A multi-criteria decision-support system," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(3), pages 1493-1504, March.
    8. Boliko, Charles M. & Ialnazov, Dimiter S., 2019. "An assessment of rural electrification projects in Kenya using a sustainability framework," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    9. Burton, Jonathan & Hubacek, Klaus, 2007. "Is small beautiful? A multicriteria assessment of small-scale energy technology applications in local governments," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(12), pages 6402-6412, December.
    10. Sánchez-Lozano, Juan M. & Teruel-Solano, Jerónimo & Soto-Elvira, Pedro L. & Socorro García-Cascales, M., 2013. "Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) methods for the evaluation of solar farms locations: Case study in south-eastern Spain," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 24(C), pages 544-556.
    11. Carlos A. Bana e Costa & João C. Lourenço & Manuel P. Chagas & João C. Bana e Costa, 2008. "Development of Reusable Bid Evaluation Models for the Portuguese Electric Transmission Company," Decision Analysis, INFORMS, vol. 5(1), pages 22-42, March.
    12. Rahman, Md. Mizanur & Paatero, Jukka V. & Lahdelma, Risto, 2013. "Evaluation of choices for sustainable rural electrification in developing countries: A multicriteria approach," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 589-599.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Yang, Shuxia & Wang, Xiongfei & Xu, Jiayu & Tang, Mingrun & Chen, Guang, 2023. "Distribution network adaptability assessment considering distributed PV “reverse power flow” behavior - a case study in Beijing," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 275(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Garces, Estefany & Franco, Carlos J. & Tomei, Julia & Dyner, Isaac, 2023. "Sustainable electricity supply for small off-grid communities in Colombia: A system dynamics approach," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 172(C).
    2. Konstantinos Ioannou & Georgios Tsantopoulos & Garyfallos Arabatzis & Zacharoula Andreopoulou & Eleni Zafeiriou, 2018. "A Spatial Decision Support System Framework for the Evaluation of Biomass Energy Production Locations: Case Study in the Regional Unit of Drama, Greece," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-22, February.
    3. Antoine Boche & Clément Foucher & Luiz Fernando Lavado Villa, 2022. "Understanding Microgrid Sustainability: A Systemic and Comprehensive Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-29, April.
    4. Sellak, Hamza & Ouhbi, Brahim & Frikh, Bouchra & Palomares, Iván, 2017. "Towards next-generation energy planning decision-making: An expert-based framework for intelligent decision support," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 1544-1577.
    5. Laura Del-Río-Carazo & Emiliano Acquila-Natale & Santiago Iglesias-Pradas & Ángel Hernández-García, 2022. "Sustainable Rural Electrification Project Management: An Analysis of Three Case Studies," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-21, February.
    6. Alami Merrouni, Ahmed & Elwali Elalaoui, Fakhreddine & Mezrhab, Ahmed & Mezrhab, Abdelhamid & Ghennioui, Abdellatif, 2018. "Large scale PV sites selection by combining GIS and Analytical Hierarchy Process. Case study: Eastern Morocco," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 863-873.
    7. Gigović, Ljubomir & Pamučar, Dragan & Božanić, Darko & Ljubojević, Srđan, 2017. "Application of the GIS-DANP-MABAC multi-criteria model for selecting the location of wind farms: A case study of Vojvodina, Serbia," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 103(C), pages 501-521.
    8. Sofia Spyridonidou & Georgia Sismani & Eva Loukogeorgaki & Dimitra G. Vagiona & Hagit Ulanovsky & Daniel Madar, 2021. "Sustainable Spatial Energy Planning of Large-Scale Wind and PV Farms in Israel: A Collaborative and Participatory Planning Approach," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(3), pages 1-23, January.
    9. Strantzali, Eleni & Aravossis, Konstantinos, 2016. "Decision making in renewable energy investments: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 885-898.
    10. Anissa Frini & Sarah Benamor, 2018. "Making Decisions in a Sustainable Development Context: A State-of-the-Art Survey and Proposal of a Multi-period Single Synthesizing Criterion Approach," Computational Economics, Springer;Society for Computational Economics, vol. 52(2), pages 341-385, August.
    11. Shao, Meng & Han, Zhixin & Sun, Jinwei & Xiao, Chengsi & Zhang, Shulei & Zhao, Yuanxu, 2020. "A review of multi-criteria decision making applications for renewable energy site selection," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 157(C), pages 377-403.
    12. Jesús A. Prieto-Amparán & Alfredo Pinedo-Alvarez & Carlos R. Morales-Nieto & María C. Valles-Aragón & Alan Álvarez-Holguín & Federico Villarreal-Guerrero, 2021. "A Regional GIS-Assisted Multi-Criteria Evaluation of Site-Suitability for the Development of Solar Farms," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-19, February.
    13. Vrînceanu, Alexandra & Dumitrașcu, Monica & Kucsicsa, Gheorghe, 2022. "Site suitability for photovoltaic farms and current investment in Romania," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 187(C), pages 320-330.
    14. Domenech, B. & Ferrer-Martí, L. & Pastor, R., 2015. "Hierarchical methodology to optimize the design of stand-alone electrification systems for rural communities considering technical and social criteria," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 182-196.
    15. Finn, Thomas & McKenzie, Paul, 2020. "A high-resolution suitability index for solar farm location in complex landscapes," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 158(C), pages 520-533.
    16. Abdul, Daud & Wenqi, Jiang & Tanveer, Arsalan, 2022. "Prioritization of renewable energy source for electricity generation through AHP-VIKOR integrated methodology," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 184(C), pages 1018-1032.
    17. Ali, Shahid & Taweekun, Juntakan & Techato, Kuaanan & Waewsak, Jompob & Gyawali, Saroj, 2019. "GIS based site suitability assessment for wind and solar farms in Songkhla, Thailand," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 1360-1372.
    18. Yılmaz, Kutay & Dinçer, Ali Ersin & Ayhan, Elif N., 2023. "Exploring flood and erosion risk indices for optimal solar PV site selection and assessing the influence of topographic resolution," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 216(C).
    19. Paulo Antônio Xavier Furtado & Antônio Vanderley Herrero Sola, 2020. "Fuzzy Complex Proportional Assessment Applied in Location Selection for Installation of Photovoltaic Plants," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-20, November.
    20. Shafiullah, Md & Rahman, Syed Masiur & Mortoja, Md. Golam & Al-Ramadan, Baqer, 2016. "Role of spatial analysis technology in power system industry: An overview," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 584-595.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:14:p:7546-:d:589435. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.