Site Selection Decision Research Articles

Site Selection for an Offshore Wind Power Station Under a Fuzzy Environment

The Malaysian government’s support for offshore wind power production has led to an increase in a few proposals. An important factor in the overall efficiency of any offshore wind farm is the site selection process, which is a multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) task. However, classical MCDM techniques often fail to choose a suitable site because of three main challenges. First, compensation is regarded as a problem in the processing of information. Second, data usage and data leakage are often ignored in the decision-making process. Third, interaction difficulty in fuzzy environments is easily ignored. This study provides a framework for making site selection decisions for offshore wind farms while addressing the constraints. Fuzzy VIKOR is used in the second stage of the AHP process to analyze the site’s results with respect to evaluation criteria for offshore wind farms. A comprehensive index system, which incorporates the veto criteria and evaluation criteria for selecting offshore wind power station sites, is devised. Then, the system is used to transmit imprecise information to decision makers by using a triangular fuzzy set. Likelihood-based valued comparisons indicate that imprecise choice information can be correctly used, and issues of information loss can be logically avoided. A case study of Malaysia is used to demonstrate the validity and practicality of the site selection technique. This research offers a theoretical basis for accurate offshore wind power evaluation in Malaysia.

Sub-activity site selection and activity choice modelling in planned special events

The purpose of the study is to evaluate the impacts of the variables on site selection decision of the spectators just before the main activity in order to engage in eating, having fun and performing other types of activities. A multinomial logit modelling framework is hired to model activity patterns within PSE circumstances. Activities were classified into three groups that are “Eating”, “Entertainment”, and “Other”. Model estimation on PSE survey data set from selected stadiums in Istanbul shows that due to the congestion, as travel time and activity duration increase the spectators inclined to be around the stadium 184 minutes in average before the starting time of the main activity. The results obtained from this study can be used as a micro input for the macro studies such as transportation master plans and urban plans and can offer complementary research areas for PSE traffic management and urban planning.

Site selection decision framework for photovoltaic hydrogen production project using BWM-CRITIC-MABAC: A case study in Zhangjiakou

Hydrogen production by photovoltaic power generation can not only effectively alleviate the problem of high cost of electrolysis water by making full use of light resources, but also is an efficient, clean and carbon-reducing way to produce hydrogen. The purpose of this paper is to provide a practical model for site selection decision of photovoltaic hydrogen production project (PVHPP) based on multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) method, and take Zhangjiakou City, Hebei Province as an example for analysis. Firstly, a set of evaluation criteria system including natural factors, economic factors, technical factors, social factors and environmental factors is constructed. Secondly, probabilistic hesitation fuzzy linguistic term set (PHFLTS) and trapezoidal interval type-2 fuzzy set (TIT2FS) are combined to describe the information of qualitative criteria. Then, the subjective and objective weights are calculated by using best-worst method (BWM) and criteria importance through intercriteria correlation (CRITIC), and the comprehensive weights are obtained by using the idea of game theory. The multi-attribute boundary approximation regional comparison (MABAC) method is then used to sort the alternative plant sites. The ranking results show that A2 (Chongli District) performs the best, and A1 (Qiaodong District) is the second best. Finally, taking Zhangjiakou as an example, sensitivity analysis and comparative analysis are carried out to verify the validity and reliability of the model.

Evaluation of field visit planning heuristics during rapid needs assessment in an uncertain post-disaster environment

A Rapid Needs Assessment process is carried out immediately after the onset of a disaster to investigate the disaster’s impact on affected communities, usually through field visits. Reviewing practical humanitarian guidelines reveals that there is a great need for decision support for field visit planning in order to utilize resources more efficiently at the time of great need. Furthermore, in practice, there is a tendency to use simple methods, rather than advanced solution methodologies and software; this is due to the lack of available computational tools and resources on the ground, lack of experienced technical staff, and also the chaotic nature of the post-disaster environment. We present simple heuristic algorithms inspired by the general procedure explained in practical humanitarian guidelines for site selection and routing decisions of the assessment teams while planning and executing the field visits. By simple, we mean methods that can be implemented by practitioners in the field using primary resources such as a paper map of the area and accessible software (e.g., Microsoft Excel). We test the performance of proposed heuristic algorithms, within a simulation environment , which enables us to incorporate various uncertain aspects of the post-disaster environment in the field, ranging from travel time and community assessment time to accessibility of sites and availability of community groups. We assess the performance of proposed heuristics based on real-world data from the 2011 Van earthquake in Turkey. Our results show that selecting sites based on an approximate knowledge of community groups’ existence leads to significantly better results than selecting sites randomly. In addition, updating initial routes while receiving more information also positively affects the performance of the field visit plan and leads to higher coverage of community groups than an alternative strategy where inaccessible sites and unavailable community groups are simply skipped and the initial plan is followed. Uncertainties in travel time and community assessment time adversely affect the community group coverage. In general, the performance of more sophisticated methods requiring more information deteriorates more than the performance of simple methods when the level of uncertainty increases.

Optimal site selection for wind energy: a case study

ABSTRACT Renewable energy sources (RES) have gained attraction in recent years. The optimal site selection problem is one of the most important problems in the area of RES. In this study, the optimum site selection problem for wind energy, which is one of the RES types, is discussed. Eighty-one provinces in Turkey are evaluated using the Pareto diagram and the provinces with high potential wind energy are obtained. Long-term electricity consumption estimates are performed for the 13 provinces using ARIMA and Time Series Analysis methods. Also, in the article, an integrated optimum site selection problem in GAMS 23.5 software is modeled by the predicted future energy demand. As a result of the study, the total 41 installation decisions are made for the strategic optimal site selection decision between 2021 and 2025 years. Minimizing the total cost proposed as an objective function of the developed mathematical programming model, the total cost is found as 52526500 currency unit. It is seen that the decision to install the power plant is mostly made for Balıkesir, Çanakkale and İzmir, and the number of plants for the provinces are 6, 6 and 5, respectively. The computational results show that the developed model produces effective solutions and minimizes the total cost by focusing on strategic optimal site decisions. According to the sensitivity analysis results, increasing the percentage of use in wind energy approximately 4–5% from 3.5% in total percentage will reduce the total cost by approximately 3.62%.

Site selection decision of waste-to-energy projects based on an extended cloud-TODIM method from the perspective of low-carbon

The waste-to-energy (WTE) project has become a vital part for the development of renewable energy for its characteristic of harmlessness and resource utilization, and the concept of low-carbon has gradually become the universal consensus of all countries. How to select a satisfactory site for WTE project to make a win-win situation under a low-carbon perspective has become the concern of many researchers. Deficiencies in the current site selection process may lead to inaccurate results. To solve such problems, this paper proposes an extended cloud-TODIM (Tomada de Decisão Iterativa Multicritério) method. Firstly, we construct a criteria system covering five criteria and eighteen sub-criteria. Secondly, the evaluation information is described through the hesitant fuzzy linguistic term set (HFLTS) with credibility and then the hesitant fuzzy linguistic term set is converted to clouds, which can fully describe the fuzziness, uncertainty and randomness. Thirdly, the weights of criteria are calculated by the combination weight of Analytic Network Process (ANP) method and entropy method. Furthermore, an improved TODIM method is proposed to select the optional alternative. Finally, a case in Shaanxi province is provided to verify the feasibility of our method.

Şehir Mezarlıklarının Peyzaj Mimarlığı Açısından İncelenmesi: Ordu Kenti Örneği

Her toplumun inanışları ve gelenekleri doğrultusunda şekillenen mezarlık alanları, ülkemizde genellikle atıl durumda kalmış; ne insan ruhunu ne de bir zamanlar hafızası olduğu kentini besleyemez yerler haline gelmiştir. Kentsel peyzajın dinamik bir parçası olarak kabul edilen mezarlık alanlarının yer seçimi kararından, sahip olacağı son şekle kadar bütün süreçlerinin doğru şekilde planlanması durumunda kent ve kentliye pozitif etki sağlayacağı açıktır. Bu çerçevede Ordu ili, Altınordu ilçesinde yer alan altı adet şehir mezarlığının mekânsal ve tasarımsal açıdan mevcut durumları analiz edilmiş, ziyaretçilerin beklentilerini öğrenmeye yönelik anket çalışması yapılmıştır. Ayrıca Ordu kent merkezi mezarlık ihtiyacı konusunda değerlendirmelerde bulunulmuştur. Çalışma sonucunda mevcut mezarlıkların alansal yeterliliğe sahip oldukları, ancak kentsel peyzaja katkı sağlayabilmeleri için uygun mekânsal düzenlemelere gereksinim duydukları görülmüştür.

СВІТОВИЙ ДОСВІД ВИБОРУ ПРІОРИТЕТНИХ ДІЛЯНОК ВЛАШТУВАННЯ БІОПЕРЕХОДІВ ТА ОГОРОДЖЕНЬ ДЛЯ ЗАХИСТУ ДИКИХ ТВАРИН

The experience of data collection methods for the installation of bio-transitions and fences for the protection of wild animals is analyzed. The need of strategic forecasting and planning of bio-transitions for animals is substantiated. Ukraine has an advantageous territorial location and therefore it is necessary to work on the modernization, expansion and improvement of the entire road network so that there is no threat to the ecological balance. The current state of the transport and road complex of our country requires the use of foreign experience. The decision of site selection for bio-transitions arrangement requires information, experience, appropriate tools and resources to determine the sites that are most suitable for the construction of these facilities. Issues. In order to facilitate the unimpeded migration of wild animals and reduce their death rate, bio-transitions are actively used in many countries. Improperly designed and installed fences are the reason of their ineffectiveness, in some cases they are an obstacle to the reproduction of populations and a restriction of wildlife feeding. The purpose of the work is to analyze the world experience of the approaches of site selection for the arrangement of bio-transitions. Materials and methods. Analysis of information sources, in particular foreign ones, on approaches and methods of site selection for arrangement of engineering structures for animal crossing. Results. The analysis of foreign information sources on methods of monitoring the migration routes of wild animals to determine the location for bio-transitions arrangement is carried out. Conclusions. The main approaches to monitoring and data collection for the site selection for bio-transitions arrangement are proposed. Keywords: highway, animal monitoring, bio-transition.

The LIHTC Program, Racially/Ethnically Concentrated Areas of Poverty, and High-Opportunity Neighborhoods

The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (“LIHTC”) program remains the na- tion’s largest affordable housing production program. LIHTC units are under-represented in the neighborhoods that both promote movement to high- opportunity neighborhoods and affirmatively further fair housing. State and local officials should play an active role in guiding site selection decisions and ensuring that LIHTC developments are located in a manner that affirmatively furthers fair housing. Planners can use newly available data discussed herein to identify high-opportunity tracts.

Exploring critical influencing factors for the site selection failure of waste-to-energy projects in China caused by the “not in my back yard” effect

PurposeThis study aims to explore the critical influencing factors that lead to the site selection failure of waste-to-energy (WtE) projects in China under the influence of the “Not In My Back Yard” (NIMBY) effect, which can provide references to improve the decision-making process of similar projects in the future.Design/methodology/approachThe fuzzy decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) method was used to propose an analytical framework for exploring the critical influencing factors affecting the site selection failure of WtE projects. The causal relationship between different influencing factors is finally determined on the basis of the opinions of 12 experts from universities, government departments, consulting units, planning and design units, construction units and WtE enterprises.FindingsResults showed that six crucial factors resulted in the site selection failure of WtE projects from the NIMBY effect perspective: “Insufficient public participation,” “Near the place of residence,” “Nonstandard government decision-making processes,” “Low information disclosure,” “Destroys the surrounding environment,” and “Imperfect compensation scheme.”Originality/valueResults can determine the priorities and causal relationships among the various influencing factors. The decision-making optimization suggestions can provide reference for decision- makers, thereby possibly promoting the scientific and standardization of site selection decision process.

An experimental test of information use by wood ducks (Aix sponsa): external habitat cues, not social visual cues, influence initial nest site selection

Birds may use a variety of cues to select a nest site, including external information on habitat structure and nest site characteristics, or they may rely instead on social information obtained directly or indirectly from the actions of conspecifics. We used an experimental manipulation to determine the extent to which a California population of the wood duck (Aix sponsa) used social information gleaned from visual cues inside nest boxes that might indicate the quality or occupancy of that site. Over two nesting seasons, we manipulated the contents of newly installed boxes to simulate one of three states: (1) presence of wood duck eggs, indicating current use of a nest site; (2) presence of down and shell membranes, indicating a previously successful nest; and (3) control nests with fresh shavings indicating an unused box. In addition, we measured habitat characteristics of the area surrounding each box to assess the use of external, non-social information about each nest site. We found no evidence that females laid eggs preferentially, or that conspecific brood parasitism was more likely to occur, in any of the treatments. In contrast, nest site use and reproductive traits of wood ducks did vary with vegetation cover, and orientation and distance of the box from water. Our results suggest that personal information, not social information, influences initial nest site selection decisions when females are unfamiliar with a site. Social cues likely become increasingly important once nest sites develop their own history, and a population becomes well established. In selecting a nest site, birds may use many types of information, including habitat characteristics, their own previous breeding experience, or social cues inadvertently provided by other individuals of the same or different species. We examined information use in a Californian population of wood ducks by experimentally manipulating the visual cues within nest boxes and found that females did not use internal box cues to direct their nesting behaviors, appearing to rely on key habitat characteristics instead. These results contrast with previous studies of this system, suggesting that females may change the cues they use depending on their prior experience with a particular area. In the nest site selection literature, there appears to be a divergence between research on passerines versus waterfowl, and we advocate unifying these perspectives.

Headquarters site selection preferences: occupiers’ perspectives

PurposeThere are multitudes of sites and buildings offering various services to their occupiers. Studies highlight that companies choose sites and buildings that enable business’ growth and competition. The purpose of this paper is to explore occupiers’ perspectives on headquarters (HQs) site selection preferences with reference to the public listed firms in South Africa’s eight metropolitan municipalities.Design/methodology/approachA literature review was conducted to understand site selection preferences in other countries to inform the current study. Empirical data were collected using a sequential mixed-method approach using interviews and a survey. Semi-structured interviews were conducted first with the executives/management and also personnel who are involved in site selection decisions. Purposive sampling technique was used to select one company per industry to be interviewed. The information gathered from interviews informed the survey that was distributed online using Qualtrics software to all public listed firms located within the eight metropolitan municipalities in South Africa. Thematic analysis was used for analysing the interviews, whereas self-explicated conjoint model was used for the survey.FindingsThe results reveal that HQs as occupants of space prefer facilities that have good security and security systems, backup generators, air conditioning, parking facilities, energy management, access to the internet, efficient water supply, quality meeting places, cleaning services, the condition of the premises and disabled-friendly facilities. In addition to these preferences, HQs also prefer sites that are accessible. From this study, aspects that are unique to South Africa’s case are around security and security systems. The higher the crime levels, the higher is the demand on HQs to provide security and security systems for not only for their premises but also their employees. The current water and energy outages are also affecting HQs resulting in companies preferring facilities with an efficient water supply and having backup generators.Research limitations/implicationsThe research only focussed on public listed firms located within the eight metropolitan municipalities. The findings may/may not apply to the HQs of non-listed firms and also to those situated outside the metropolitan municipalities. Owing to this, the results cannot be generalised. Further studies are needed to explore preference by industry with larger sample size.Practical implicationsThis study provides insights on HQs site selection preference levels from the context of South Africa as a developing country. The insights would be useful to companies within the South African context to better understand their contextual dynamics and for companies seeking to do business in developing countries. Apart from companies, this study would also be beneficial to policymakers in creating enabling policies for companies, property developers to build facilities that embrace aspects preferred by occupants and investors to understand the preferences of HQs in the selection of sites for their operation.Originality/valueIn a developing country such as South Africa, there are limited studies on HQs site selection preferences; therefore, this study is one of the few studies bridging the knowledge gap. This study adopts a marketing approach to understand corporate real estate phenomenon.

Great SCO2T! Rapid tool for carbon sequestration science, engineering, and economics

CO2 capture and storage (CCS) technology is likely to be widely deployed in the coming decades in response to major climate and economics drivers: CCS is part of every clean energy pathway that limits global warming to 2 ​°C or less and receives significant CO2 tax credits in the United States. These drivers are likely to stimulate the capture, transport, and storage of hundreds of millions or billions of tonnes of CO2 annually. A key part of the CCS puzzle will be identifying and characterizing suitable storage sites for vast amounts of CO2. We introduce a new software tool called SCO2T (Sequestration of CO2Tool, pronounced “Scott”), a dynamic CO2 injection and storage model, to rapidly characterize saline storage reservoirs. The tool is designed to rapidly screen hundreds of thousands of reservoirs, perform sensitivity and uncertainty analyses, and link sequestration engineering (injection rates, reservoir capacities, plume dimensions) to sequestration economics (costs constructed from around 70 separate economic inputs). We describe the novel science developments supporting SCO2T including a new approach to estimating CO2 injection rates and CO2 plume dimensions as well as key advances linking sequestration engineering with economics. We perform a sensitivity and uncertainty analysis of geology parameter combinations—including formation depth, thickness, permeability, porosity, and temperature—to understand the impact on carbon sequestration. Through the sensitivity analysis, we show that increasing depth and permeability both can lead to increased CO2 injection rates, increased storage potential, and reduced costs, while increasing porosity reduces costs without impacting the injection rate (CO2 is injected at a constant pressure in all cases) by increasing the reservoir capacity. Through uncertainty analysis—where formation thickness, permeability, and porosity are randomly sampled—we show that final sequestration costs are normally distributed with upper bound costs around 50% higher than the lower bound costs. While site selection decisions will ultimately require detailed site characterization and permitting, SCO2T provides an inexpensive dynamic screening tool that can help prioritize projects based on the complex interplay of reservoir, infrastructure (e.g., proximity to pipelines), and other (e.g., land use, legal) constraints on the suitability of certain regions for CCS.

Census data aggregation decisions can affect population-level inference in heterogeneous populations.

Conservation and population management decisions often rely on population models parameterized using census data. However, the sampling regime, precision, sample size, and methods used to collect census data are usually heterogeneous in time and space. Decisions about how to derive population‐wide estimates from this patchwork of data are complicated and may bias estimated population dynamics, with important implications for subsequent management decisions.Here, we explore the impact of site selection and data aggregation decisions on pup survival estimates, and downstream estimates derived from parameterized matrix population models (MPMs), using a long‐term dataset on grey seal (Halichoerus grypus) pup survival from southwestern Wales. The spatiotemporal and methodological heterogeneity of the data are fairly typical for ecological census data and it is, therefore, a good model to address this topic.Data were collected from 46 sampling locations (sites) over 25 years, and we explore the impact of data handling decisions by varying how years and sampling locations are combined to parameterize pup survival in population‐level MPMs. We focus on pup survival because abundant high‐quality data are available on this developmental stage.We found that survival probability was highly variable with most variation being at the site level, and poorly correlated among sampling sites. This variation could generate marked differences in predicted population dynamics depending on sampling strategy. The sample size required for a confident survival estimate also varied markedly geographically.We conclude that for populations with highly variable vital rates among sub‐populations, site selection and data aggregation methods are important. In particular, including peripheral or less frequently used areas can introduce substantial variation into population estimates. This is likely to be context‐dependent, but these choices, including the use of appropriate weights when summarizing across sampling areas, should be explored to ensure that management actions are successful.

An economic analysis on Taiwanese wind power and regional development

Due to environmental concern, Taiwan aims to remove nuclear power from its energy structure. Since an increase in fossil fuel-based generation is foreboded by law, the lost nuclear power can only be replaced by renewable energy sources. The maritime climate and constant monsoons make wind power a feasible alternative energy source to Taiwan. With more than 300 potential wind farm sites under consideration, the government does not have enough information to determine the best sites in terms of power generation and capital investments. To explore such information, this study employs a lifecycle analysis to identify the economic components of these sites under the estimates of wind speed data and potential wind power generation obtained in our previous study. We also use a sensitivity analysis to examine the impact of construction cost, maintenance cost, energy sale, and emission trade on the site selection decision. We show that variations in construction costs and energy prices have larger impacts than greenhouse gases prices. In addition, the results point out that most sites pass the cost-benefit examination, but site rankings may alter in the face of capital rationing and climate change. Some policy implications derived from the results are discussed in detail.

Weighted-additive fuzzy multi-choice goal programming (WA-FMCGP) for supporting renewable energy site selection decisions

This paper proposes a novel weighted-additive fuzzy multi-choice goal programming (WA-FMCGP) model for the imprecise decision context wherein several conflicting goals are present but each goal has multiple-choice aspiration levels (MCALs) and, around them, the fuzzinesses are expressed in terms of membership functions (MFs). The main contribution of this model is its use of an objective function that minimises the weighted-additive summation of the normalised deviations; thus, the model can adopt any minimisation process from any goal programming (GP) variant. The advantages of this FGP-MCGP (fuzzy GP – multi-choice GP) model are shown by using it to solve a numerical example from F-MODM (fuzzy MODM) literature and comparing the results with those of a recent FP-MCGP (fuzzy programming – multi-choice GP) study. The application of the model is also verified using real data (i.e., it can model and support renewable energy site selection (RESS) where the decision context is imprecise). As WA-FMCGP is largely a MODM model, through its application, this study also provides a supplementary method in contrast to the multi-attribute decision-making (MADM) model applications used thus far for RESS.

Historical Appendix: How Do Institutions of Higher Education Affect Local Invention? Evidence from the Establishment of U.S. Colleges

This appendix describes in detail the college site selection decisions used in the paper How Do Institutions of Higher Education Affect Local Invention? Evidence from the Establishment of U.S. Colleges (Andrews 2020).

Energy is at the root of Australia's political crisis: building a resilient renewable grid

Renewable energy sources are becoming more abundant as costs fall and climate change becomes ever more influential in decision making. One drawback of renewable energy sources is that they tend to rely on environmental factors, making them unreliable when powering a 24/7 society. One solution to the storage of energy is reservoirs. While the technology has been around for decades, the business case is often difficult to define or prove. The Australian Renewable Energy Agency together with Australia National University, Black & Veatch and a team of specialists, developed tools which identify potential locations, produced a high-level assessment of required infrastructure, and developed a cost model on which site-selection decisions can be made. In doing so they have created a catalogue of potential sites that can be developed across Australia, ready to help the energy grid provide for the twenty-first century.

RAM TEXTILES AND GARMENTS GOES OVERSEAS (PART PRODUCTION)

Board of Management of Ram textiles and Garments, Chennai based company decided on competitive efficiency in Textile business and suggested a new site in any one of SE Asian countries. There is need to orient towards socio economic and political aspects in such countries. The textile industry in India is competitive and big ones alone enter into superior quality and brand and also big firms prefer off shore production. Innovative supply chain is important in the industry. It has become a change in Indian textile and clothing and also need change in production method, marketing skills and productivity level to maintain competitiveness in international market. Indian textile and clothing sectors have scope for potential in export market as prices are drawn by international factors and compel exporters to go for strategy of (partial) exports and (partial) domestic sale. Various measures are used. They are cost reduction in raw materials, labour cost power and utility cost. There are opportunities in the industry. E-commerce and world class quality are also possible. Ram textiles, Chennai based textile has to take decision for site selection in overseas (part) production in any one SE Asian destinations. The Management has to weigh the factors like plant location, international orientation, cost economy and culture for their strategy to go overseas (SE Asia). The company got technical report for the need of overseas production and Mr. Ram, the entrepreneur is presently thinking on business development in the long-non as efficient ones alone in the industry grab the opportunity.

The enemy of my enemy: multiple interacting selection pressures lead to unexpected anti-predator responses.

Despite being a major selective force, predation can induce puzzling variability in anti-predator responses-from lack of predator aversion to lifelong predator-induced fear. This variability is hypothesised to result from variation in the trade-offs associated with avoiding predators. But critical information on fitness outcomes of these trade-offs associated with anti-predator behaviours is lacking. We tested this trade-off hypothesis in Aedes aegypti, by examining oviposition site selection decisions in response towards larval predation risk and comprehensively measuring the fitness implications of trade-offs of avoiding larval predators, using three fitness measures: larval survival, development time and size. In a field study, we find that adult females show a surprisingly variable response to predators, ranging from attraction to avoidance. This variation is explained by fitness outcomes of oviposition along a predation-risk gradient that we measured in the laboratory. We show that ovipositing females could gain fitness benefits from ovipositing in pools with a low density of predators, rather than in predator-free pools, as predators provide a release from negative density effects of conspecific larvae that might co-occur in a pool. Interacting selection pressures may thus explain diverse prey responses. We suggest other systems in which similarly unexpected prey behaviour is likely to occur.