New hybrid multi criteria decision making method for offshore windfarm site location in Persian Gulf, Iran

Choosing the right location for the sustainable development of offshore wind energy plays an important role in the success of renewable projects. In this regard, in the present study, a new application of the hybrid FuzzySWARA & Fuzzy-WASPAS method was presented to prioritize the suitable area for developing offshore wind projects. For a case study, five regions with high potential for offshore wind energy in the Persian-Gulf have been investigated. Economic assessment was evaluated using the Levelized Cost of energy method. Evaluation of offshore wind farms has been analyzed from various aspects including technical, economic, social, environmental and risk. The SWARA was used for weighting the criteria and the WASPAS was used for prioritizing the offshore windy areas. Sensitivity analysis was also performed to determine the stability of the new hybrid MCDM method. Also for comparative study, the results of traditional MCDM methods such as Fuzzy-SAW, Fuzzy-VIKOR, and Fuzzy-TOPSIS were compared with the results of Fuzzy-WASPAS. The economic evaluation showed that the cost of electricity generated in the Persian-Gulf was 0.05 $/kWh. Also, the new hybrid MCDM method has a very high stability and can be used as an efficient method in future studies in offshore energy planning.