Wave-energy plant site and converter type selection using multi-criteria decision making

Abstract

The demand for renewable energy sources is increasing rapidly due to the increase in energy demand, the possible decline of fossil fuels in the coming years, climate change and environmental pollution. Several studies have been carried out on the potential of wave energy and many wave-energy converters (WECs) have been developed. Although there is potential for wave energy in Turkey, wave energy is hardly exploited. The main purpose of this study was to determine the most appropriate site and converter type for a wave-energy power plant planned to be built in Turkey. For this purpose, a two-phased multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) structure is constructed. Analytic network process (ANP) and fuzzy technique for order preference by similar to ideal solution (Topsis) are selected as MCDM methods. Five cities located on the Black Sea coast that have high wave-energy potential are selected as alternatives for the installation site of the wave-energy power plant. In the first phase, Sinop is determined by ANP as the most suitable site for a wave-energy power plant. In the second phase, the most suitable of the five alternative WECs, to be installed at Sinop, is determined by fuzzy Topsis to be Oyster.