A GIS-MCDA Approach Addressing Economic-Social-Environmental Concerns for Selecting the Most Suitable Compressed Air Energy Storage Reservoirs

Catarina R. Matos, Júlio F. Carneiro, Patricia Silva and Carla Henriques
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Catarina R. Matos: Energy for Sustainability Initiative, MIT Portugal Program, Faculty of Sciences and Technology, University of Coimbra, Rua Luís Reis dos Santos, Pólo II, 3030-788 Coimbra, Portugal
Júlio F. Carneiro: Institute of Earth Sciences (ICT), University of Évora, Colégio Luís António Verney, Rua Romão Ramalho, 59, 7000-671 Évora, Portugal

Energies, 2021, vol. 14, issue 20, 1-22

Abstract: This article presents an assessment of the most suitable compressed air energy storage (CAES) reservoirs and facilities to better integrate renewable energy into the electricity grid. The novelty of this study resides in selecting the best CAES reservoir sites through the application of a multi-criteria decision aid (MCDA) tool, specifically the simple additive weighting (SAW) method. Besides using geographic information systems (GIS) spatial representation of potential reservoir areas, for the MCDA method, several spatial criteria, environmental and social constraints, and positive incentives (e.g., the proximity to existing power generation facilities of renewable energy sources) were contemplated. As a result, sixty-two alternatives or potential reservoir sites were identified, and thirteen criteria (seven constraints and six incentives) were considered. The final stage of this study consisted of conducting a sensitivity analysis to determine the robustness of the solutions obtained and giving insights regarding each criterion’s influence on the reservoir sites selected. The three best suitable reservoir sites obtained were the Monte Real salt dome, Sines Massif, and the Campina de Cima—Loulé salt mine. The results show that this GIS-MCDA methodological framework, integrating spatial and non-spatial information, proved to provide a multidimensional view of the potential reservoir CAES systems incorporating both constraints and incentives.

Keywords: compressed air energy storage; potential underground reservoirs; economic-social-environmental concerns; multi-criteria decision analysis; simple additive weighting; sensibility analysis (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 (2)

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