Optimal site selection for distributed wind power coupled hydrogen storage project using a geographical information system based multi-criteria decision-making approach: A case in China

This paper proposes a two-stage location decision-making framework to study the site selection of distributed wind power coupled hydrogen storage (DWPCHS) project for the first time. In the first stage, the restriction criteria system that includes geographical constraints and networking requirements is established. Then the geographic information system is applied to evaluate the suitability of the study area and initially determine the feasible locations. In the second stage, the evaluation criteria system involved four aspects of resource, economy, environment and society is established. And the multi criteria decision making (MCDM) methods are used for further evaluation. At this stage, the evaluation information of qualitative indicators is described by triangular intuitionistic fuzzy numbers. Afterwards, the fuzzy entropy method is used to calculate the weight of evaluation criteria. Finally, the fuzzy TODIM (an acronym in Portuguese of interactive and MCDM) method is used to rank the feasible locations and screen out the sites with excellent comprehensive performance. To verify the practicability, an empirical study in Hezhang County is conducted. Moreover, the sensitivity analysis and the comparative analysis are carried out to verify the reliability and stability of the decision model. This study can provide support for the site selection of DWPCHS project. (c) 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.