Abstract
Offshore solar energy presents a new opportunity for low-carbon energy transition. In this research, we identify and rank suitable Offshore Solar Farm (OSF) sites in the Aegean Sea, Greece, considering various constraints and assessment criteria. The methodology includes two distinct phases. In the first phase, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are used to spatially depict both incompatible and compatible marine areas for OSF deployment, while in the second phase, two models based on different combinations of multi-criteria decision-making methods are deployed to hierarchically rank the eligible areas for OSF deployment. The first model (Objective Model—OM) attributes weights to assessment criteria using an entropy-based weight method, while the second model (Subjective Model—SM) utilizes the pairwise comparison of the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) method. Both models use TOPSIS (Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution) to prioritize the suitable OSF sites. The results indicate the existence of nine suitable OSF marine areas in the Greek marine environment (total surface area of 17.25 km2) and a different ranking of these sites depending upon the deployed model (OM or SM). The present approach provides useful guidelines for OSF site selection in Greece as well as in other countries.
Highlights
The scarcity of habitable land, combined with rising energy consumption and the environmental consequences of fossil fuels, is forcing the development of offshore renewable energy projects [1]
It is noted that all the necessary data describing the above assessment criteria, as well as the exclusion criteria of Table 1, are obtained from specific sources as follows: (i) areas to be licensed for exploration and exploitation of hydrocarbons from [43], (ii) military exercise areas and water depth from [44], (iii) ports and shipping routes from [45,46], (iv) aquaculture zones from [47], (v) distance from shore, protected areas, and distance from ports from [45], (vi) areas where offshore renewable energy projects have been already installed or planned to be installed from [48], (vii) existing high-voltage electricity grid from [49], (viii) serving population from [50], and (ix) solar radiation from [51]
The corresponding results have indicated nine (9) eligible Marine Areas (MAs) in the Aegean Sea, Greece, which are shown in Figure 3 and are considered for further assessment and evaluation (Phase II)
Summary
The scarcity of habitable land, combined with rising energy consumption and the environmental consequences of fossil fuels, is forcing the development of offshore renewable energy projects [1]. Offshore solar power plants offer two major technical advantages: (i) sun-tracking around a vertical axis, which simplifies concentrator system requirements and avoids shading between collector rows, and (ii) unlimited cooling water availability, which can improve thermodynamic cycle efficiency [5] This type of renewable energy solution is characterized by the limited need for (land) space and cost (efficient use of space) [6], as well as by the feasibility of large-scale implementations that face less public opposition compared to analogous land-based projects [7]. This study addresses two research questions: (i) which criteria should be used to assess OSF siting deployment and (ii) how ranking results may change due to different criteria weighting methods.
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