Multi-criteria decision making for solar power - Wind power plant site selection using a GIS-intuitionistic fuzzy-based approach with an application in the Netherlands

The development of a country cannot be realized only through the amount of energy it produces and its industrialization. In a country where its people are left homeless and poor, and its cultural and natural riches are destroyed, the electricity produced is not a measure of development on its own. Development and progress must be considered from a holistic perspective that includes the country's geographical structure, all its living creatures, culture, urban and social structure as a whole. In this respect, the transition to renewable energy is imperative. One of the most widely used renewable energies in the Netherlands is solar and wind energy. For these power plants, site selection is an important factor in reducing the installation cost of the wind and solar power plant and achieving maximum efficiency during operation. This paves the way for the study of a site selection problem. In this study, we first investigate possible locations for solar-wind power plant installation for 12 regions of the Netherlands, namely Noord Holland, Gelderland, Friesland, North Brabant, Drenthe, Groningen, Zeeland (Middelburg), Utrecht, Zuid Holland, Limburg, Over Ijssel and Flevoland, using GIS as a mapping method, and then apply a Intuitionistic fuzzy-based approach to the problem to obtain the optimal locations for both solar and wind energy. Furthermore, the results of two methods (GIS and Intuitionistic fuzzy-based approach) are compared to obtain more accurate results. The results show that 35317.2 km2 is suitable for solar power plant and 34844.5 km2 is suitable for wind turbine, but only 34875.8 km2 is suitable for solar-wind power plan installation. •It was investigated how to find suitable sites for solar-wind optimal power plants in 12 regions of the Netherlands.•It was used two methods: GIS and intuitionistic fuzzy approach.•The Netherlands has 35317,2 km2 for solar energy and 34844,5 km2 for wind energy.•When the total average of both solar and wind energy results was calculated.•Friesland was found to be the most suitable region for both solar and wind farms.