Determination of the suitable sites for constructing solar photovoltaic (PV) power plants in Kayseri, Turkey using GIS-based ranking and AHP methods

The fact that traditional energy sources have limited reserves and have a negative impact on the environment increases the demand for renewable energy sources. Environmental, economic, and sustainability concerns have led researchers, investors, and policy makers to seek the potential of renewable energy sources. Suitable site selection for new-generation renewable resources is vital in large-scale projects. In this paper, geographic information systems and multicriteria decision-making (MCDM) methods were integrated to exploit and construct the best location for solar PV power plants in Kayseri, Turkey. Three main, twelve subcriteria, and their indicators related to the study area were determined. The rank-based (i.e., rank sum, rank reciprocal weights, and rank order centroid weights) and analytical hierarchical process (AHP) MCDM methods were used to determine the weights of the criteria. Thirty-three existing solar PV power plants were used to verify the success of MCDM methods. Four MCDM methods yielded effective results according to the proposed criteria, and most of the existing solar PV power plants match the convenient regions on the suitability map provided by geographic information systems-based rank reciprocal method. In addition, according to the experimental study, Sarız, Tomarza, and Incesu districts of Kayseri were the most suitable sites.