A decision framework for tidal current power plant site selection based on GIS-MCDM: A case study in China

Abstract

To reach carbon neutrality, renewable energy development will gradually accelerate. Tidal current energy, with high energy density, long-term predictability and potentially large reserves, is an important research direction. As the prerequisite for tidal current energy development, Tidal Current Power Plant Site Selection (TCPPSS) affects its future benefits. Although some studies have been conducted on TCPPSS, further work is still needed on criteria system, research scales and methods. In this paper, a three-stage decision framework is proposed based on Geographic Information System (GIS) and Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) to determine potential marine areas, extract and evaluate site alternatives. In this framework, a scientific criteria system with exclusion and evaluation criteria is established. To reduce subjective deviations in Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), a combinative weighting method based on Fuzzy Group decision making AHP (FGAHP) and CRiteria Importance Through Intercriteria Correlation (CRITIC) is developed to calculate the criteria weights. Considering the maximum group utility and minimum individual regret, VlseKriterijumska Optimizacija I Kompromisno Resenje (VIKOR), a compromise method, is used to rank the alternatives. The proposed framework is applied to a case of Shandong Province, Eastern China. The results are verified through sensitivity analysis and can provide a direct reference for decision-makers.