Determining the Location of Solar Power Plant in Indonesia Using Fuzzy-AHP TOPSIS

Abstract

Solar is a promising renewable energy source for Indonesia's increasing electricity demand, which grows at the rate of 3.3% annually. However, high investment costs and unclear policies hinder Solar Power Plant (SPP) development. Considering the potential for growth in energy demand and the low long-term operational costs, it is imperative to foster SPP expansion in Indonesia. This study aims to identify location criteria and potential SPP development sites in Indonesia. We employ Multi-Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM) combining Fuzzy-AHP and Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) methodologies to assign criteria weights and prioritize alternative SPP locations. Results show that, from all respondents using the geometric mean in the Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), it is found that the Economic criteria give the highest weight at 31%, and subcriteria of Land Availability, Peak Sun Hours, Geographic Location, Distance from Transportation Networks, Construction Costs, and Government Regulations contribute significantly. The ranking of alternative solutions indicates that South Sumatra Province holds the highest priority for SPP development with a 0.572 score, closely followed by North Sumatra at 0.571