Abstract
This study investigated the prioritization and ranking problem of the appropriate locations at which to deploy solar photovoltaic (PV) farms. Although different Multicriteria Decision Making (MCDM) methods can be found in the literature to address this problem, a comparative analysis of those methods is missing. The aim of this study is to compare four different MCDM approaches to evaluate and rank suitable areas for the deployment of solar PV farms, with the island of Rhodes (Greece) being used as an example. Feasible areas for the location of such facilities were identified with the use of Geographical Information Systems (GIS), by applying certain exclusion criteria found either in the national legislative framework or in the international literature. Data were obtained from Greek open geospatial data. The feasible sites were evaluated and ranked using four different MCDM methods: the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP), the Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS), the VIKOR (VIseKriterijumska Optimizacija I Kompromisno Resenje), and the PROMETHEE II (Preference Ranking Organization METHod for Enrichment of Evaluations) method. The best alternative rated according to three TOPSIS, VIKOR and PROMETHEE is site (S2). The second-best alternative in the above three methods is site (S1), while the worst is site (S3). The best alternative rated according to AHP (S4) is in sixth position according to TOPSIS and in fifth position VIKOR and PROMETHEE. The comparison demonstrated that different MCDM techniques may generate different ranks. The simultaneous use of several MCDM methods in energy siting problems is considered advantageous as it can help decision makers to select the most sustainable sites, avoiding the disadvantages and availing the advantages of each method.