Use of hybrid MCDM methods for site location of solar-powered hydrogen production plants in Uzbekistan

Abstract

Uzbekistan is a developing country where energy demand is rising, and it has many problems in the energy supply sector. This issue leads to a mismatch between energy consumption and supply in this country. Most of the country’s energy supply comes from natural gas. A major part of Uzbekistan’s energy demand can be provided by solar power. The purpose of this study is to determine the position of using solar energy to generate hydrogen in 13 provinces of Uzbekistan. This study is performed by using the Stepwise Weight Assessment Ratio Analysis (SWARA) for criteria weighting and using the Weighted Aggregated Sum Product Assessment (WASPAS), the COmplex PRoportional Assessment of alternatives (COPRAS), the Evaluation Based on Distance from Average Solution (EDAS), and the Weight Sum Model (WSM) for ranking locations. The results of criteria weighting with SWARA show that the top three most important criteria are solar radiation, sun hours, and average wind speed with weights of 0.248, 0.2, and 0.154, respectively. All ranking methods identify Bukhara province as the most suitable place in Uzbekistan for solar-powered hydrogen production. It is estimated that 1539.2 MW of solar power and 24.92 tons of hydrogen are produced annually in Bukhara.