An Evaluation Model of Quantitative and Qualitative Fuzzy Multi-Criteria Decision-Making Approach for Hydroelectric Plant Location Selection

Over the past few decades, Vietnam has been one of the fastest growing economies in Asia, experiencing a GDP growth rate of more than 6% per year. The energy industry plays an important role in Vietnam’s continuous development, so access to reliable and low-cost energy sources will be an important factor for sustainable economic growth. Achieving the goal of reducing global greenhouse gas emissions, as set out in the Paris agreement on climate change, will depend heavily on the development roadmap of emerging economies, such as Vietnam. Currently, developing hydroelectric plants is Vietnam’s optimal choice in order to meet its target of renewable energy development. Hydroelectricity in Vietnam is favorable thanks to the high average annual rainfall, about 1800–2000 mm, and the dense river system, with more than 3450 systems. In addition to providing electricity, hydropower plants are also responsible for cutting and fighting floods for downstream areas in the rainy season, at the same time providing water for production and people’s daily needs in the dry season. This work proposes the application of a multicriteria decision-making (MCDM) model to select the best option for the installation of river hydroelectric plants in Vietnam. The use of MCDM techniques in environmental decision-making, including selecting between various alternatives, is important when this involves complex decisions in several disciplinary fields. The most widely used of these techniques are the fuzzy analytical network process (FANP) and the technique for order of preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS). As a result, Nghe An (LOC05) is found to be the optimal solution for selecting river portions where hydroelectric plants are viable in Vietnam.