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A High-Resolution Wind Farms Suitability Mapping Using GIS and Fuzzy AHP Approach: A National-Level Case Study in Sudan

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  • Amr S. Zalhaf

    (Electrical Power and Machines Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Tanta University, Tanta 31511, Egypt
    School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China (UESTC), Chengdu 611731, China)

  • Bahaa Elboshy

    (Department of Architectural Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Tanta University, Tanta 31511, Egypt)

  • Kotb M. Kotb

    (Electrical Power and Machines Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Tanta University, Tanta 31511, Egypt)

  • Yang Han

    (School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China (UESTC), Chengdu 611731, China)

  • Abdulrazak H. Almaliki

    (Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Taif University, Taif 21944, Saudi Arabia)

  • Reda M. H. Aly

    (Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Taif University, Taif 21944, Saudi Arabia)

  • M. R. Elkadeem

    (Electrical Power and Machines Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Tanta University, Tanta 31511, Egypt)

Abstract

Wind energy is one of the most attractive sustainable energy resources since it has low operation, maintenance, and production costs and a relatively low impact on the environment. Identifying the optimal sites for installing wind power plants (WPPs) is considered an important challenge of wind energy development which requires careful and combined analyses of numerous criteria. This study introduces a high-resolution wind farms suitability mapping based on Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Process (FAHP) and Geographic Information System (GIS) approaches considering technical, environmental, social, and spatial aspects, representing eight different criteria. First, a multi-criteria decision-making analysis based on the FAHP method is employed to assign appropriate weights for the addressed criteria with respect to their relative importance. Since the traditional AHP method, which was found employed in the majority of the relative case-studies, is not efficient in dealing with uncertainty when experts use a basic scale (0 to 1) for their assessments, the FAHP provides more flexible scales through the utilized fuzzy membership functions and the natural linguistic variables. Consequently, this helps to facilitate the assessments made by experts and increases the precision of the obtained results (weights). Next, the high-resolution GIS is used to carry out a spatial analysis and integrate various factors/criteria throughout the proposed index to produce the final suitability map and identify the unsuitable areas. The presented study emphasizes investigating the lightning strike flash rate due to its significant influences on the wind turbine’s safety and operation, yet this crucial factor has been seldomly investigated in previous studies. The obtained findings revealed that the wind speed, the land slope, and the elevation had the highest weighted criteria with 33.1%, 24.8%, and 12.2%, respectively. Besides, the final-developed suitability map revealed that 23.22% and 8.31% of the Sudanese territory are of high and very high suitability, respectively, for wind farms installation which are considered sufficient to cover the electricity needs. The difficulty of acquiring real data and resources for the addressed location was the main challenge of the presented work. The work outlook addresses the suitability mapping of hybrid photovoltaic-wind turbine energy systems, which will require addressing new and significant criteria in the applied methodology.

Suggested Citation

  • Amr S. Zalhaf & Bahaa Elboshy & Kotb M. Kotb & Yang Han & Abdulrazak H. Almaliki & Reda M. H. Aly & M. R. Elkadeem, 2021. "A High-Resolution Wind Farms Suitability Mapping Using GIS and Fuzzy AHP Approach: A National-Level Case Study in Sudan," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(1), pages 1-21, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2021:i:1:p:358-:d:713952
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Elkadeem, M.R. & Younes, Ali & Sharshir, Swellam W. & Campana, Pietro Elia & Wang, Shaorong, 2021. "Sustainable siting and design optimization of hybrid renewable energy system: A geospatial multi-criteria analysis," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 295(C).
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    1. Yiping Li & Jingchun Zhou & Zhanyong Feng, 2023. "Location of Mountain Photovoltaic Power Station Based on Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process—Taking Longyang District, Baoshan City, Yunnan Province as an Example," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(24), pages 1-20, December.
    2. Maddi Aizpurua-Etxezarreta & Sheila Carreno-Madinabeitia & Alain Ulazia & Jon Sáenz & Aitor Saenz-Aguirre, 2022. "Long-Term Freezing Temperatures Frequency Change Effect on Wind Energy Gain (Eurasia and North America, 1950–2019)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-15, May.
    3. Zhou, Siyu & Han, Yang & Zalhaf, Amr S. & Chen, Shuheng & Zhou, Te & Yang, Ping & Elboshy, Bahaa, 2023. "A novel multi-objective scheduling model for grid-connected hydro-wind-PV-battery complementary system under extreme weather: A case study of Sichuan, China," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 212(C), pages 818-833.
    4. Wimhurst, Joshua J. & Greene, J. Scott & Koch, Jennifer, 2023. "Predicting commercial wind farm site suitability in the conterminous United States using a logistic regression model," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 352(C).

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