A new interactive method based on multi-criteria preference degree functions for solar power plant site selection

Abstract

Solar power energy is renewable and clean energy, widely used to produce electricity. Its unique properties have led to increasing demands in many countries. In this regard, the importance of Multi-Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM) in solar power plants, especially site selection problems, is increasingly on the rise. Thus, this study presents a new approach suited to the nature of this problem when the amount of the required investment is a critical aspect. As managers naturally cannot rely on methods that behave as a black box, this study renders a new approach that redefines the linear relations of Interactive Simple Additive Weighting (ISAW) by multi-criteria preference degree functions of Preference Ranking Organization Method for Enrichment Evaluation (PROMETHEE). In the proposed approach, an initial order of alternatives is gradually improved by swapping the order of a pair of alternatives until the decision-maker becomes satisfied. To validate the proposed method, we consider a case study of site selection for solar farms.