A Multi-Criteria Approach to Evaluate Floating Offshore Wind Farms Siting in the Canary Islands (Spain)

Hugo Díaz and Carlos Guedes Soares
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Hugo Díaz: Centre for Marine Technology and Ocean Engineering (CENTEC), Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, 1000 Lisbon, Portugal
Carlos Guedes Soares: Centre for Marine Technology and Ocean Engineering (CENTEC), Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, 1000 Lisbon, Portugal

Energies, 2021, vol. 14, issue 4, 1-18

Abstract: The study presents a methodology for floating wind farms site selection with a Canary Islands case study. The frame combines geographical information systems (GIS) and multiple criteria decision methods (MCDMs). First, the problematic areas for the installation of the turbines are identified through a GIS database application. This tool generates thematic layers representing exclusion criteria. Then, at the second stage of the study, available maritime locations are analyzed and ranked using the analytical hierarchy process (AHP), based on technical, economic, and environmental aspects. AHP’s technique guarantee the elimination of the judgment’s subjectivity. The study also compared the solutions of the AHP technique with other methods, such as Preference Ranking Organization METHod for Enrichment of Evaluations (PROMETHEE), ELimination Et Choix Traduisant la Realité (ELECTRE III), Technique for Order Preferences by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) and Weighted Sum Algorithm (WSA(). The main result of this study is the creation of a realistic and objective overview of floating offshore wind farm site selection and the contribution to minimize the environmental impacts and to reduce the social conflicts between stakeholders.

Keywords: Canary Islands; floating wind farm; multicriteria decision making; offshore wind; site selection; spatial energy planning (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (18)

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