A Spatial Decision-Support System for Wind Farm Site Selection in Djibouti

Ayan Pierre Abdi (), Atilla Damci, Ozgur Kirca, Harun Turkoglu, David Arditi, Sevilay Demirkesen, Mustafa Korkmaz and Adil Enis Arslan
Additional contact information
Ayan Pierre Abdi: Department of Civil Engineering, Istanbul Technical University, Istanbul 34469, Turkey
Atilla Damci: Department of Civil Engineering, Istanbul Technical University, Istanbul 34469, Turkey
Ozgur Kirca: Department of Civil Engineering, Istanbul Technical University, Istanbul 34469, Turkey
Harun Turkoglu: Department of Civil Engineering, Istanbul Technical University, Istanbul 34469, Turkey
David Arditi: Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering, Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, IL 60616, USA
Sevilay Demirkesen: Department of Civil Engineering, Gebze Technical University, Kocaeli 41400, Turkey
Mustafa Korkmaz: Department of Civil Engineering, Igdir University, Igdir 76000, Turkey
Adil Enis Arslan: Department of Geomatics, Istanbul Technical University, Istanbul 34469, Turkey

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 22, 1-22

Abstract: The escalating energy demand in Djibouti requires the investigation of renewable energy sources, with wind energy emerging as a promising solution. To ensure the long-term efficiency and sustainability of wind energy projects, it is imperative to determine suitable sites for wind farm construction. When selecting a suitable site for a wind farm, there are multiple criteria to consider, such as wind velocity, ground slope, and distance to urban areas. Nevertheless, the current body of the literature reveals that no previous research has been conducted to explore an approach which involves multiple criteria to determine suitable sites for wind farms in Djibouti, as opposed to solely considering wind energy potential. This study proposes a spatial decision-support system to address the research gap in the selection of wind farm sites. Seven criteria are simultaneously evaluated in this system, including wind velocity, changes in wind direction, ground slope, distance to urban areas, distance to road network, distance to energy transmission networks, and land use. The CRITIC (Criteria Importance Through Intercriteria Correlation) method is used to objectively calculate the weights of the criteria. According to the results of performing the CRITIC method, wind velocity and distance to energy transmission networks were determined to be the most important criteria, while ground slope and land use were determined to be the least important criteria in comparison to others. A final suitability map showing the possible locations of wind farms in Djibouti was generated by considering the said criteria and their respective weights. The final suitability map reveals that the most suitable sites for the development of wind farms in Djibouti are located in the northeastern area between Obock and Khor-Angor, the southeastern area encompassing Lakes Ghoubet and Bara, and the southwestern area stretching from Lake Abbe to the Hanlé region. Using the proposed spatial decision-support system, decision makers would be empowered to make strategic and well-informed decisions when selecting the most suitable site for a wind farm in Djibouti.

Keywords: decision-support system; Djibouti; renewable energy; site selection; sustainability; wind farm (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/22/9635/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/22/9635/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:22:p:9635-:d:1514603

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().