A review on the applications of multi-criteria decision-making approaches for power plant site selection

Appropriate decision-making is very crucial for policy-makers in energy fields. Multi-Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM) approaches can be considered as useful techniques for various purposes related to the energy systems such as technology or site selection. In the present work, studies on the applications of these techniques for site selection of various power plants are reviewed. In addition to the power plants utilization of single technology, hybrid energy systems for electricity generation are included in this review study. On the basis of the reviewed works, it is concluded that a wide variety of the criteria can be considered for power plant site selection. Some of the criteria, such as economic ones, are applicable in all types of power plants while some other criteria, such as solar irradiance for solar systems, are applicable for specific technology. It is found that economic criteria play a key role in site selection; moreover, depending on the applied technology some other criteria can be influential. Finally, a table is proposed that summarizes the results of the reviewed studies in order to provide a comprehensive work for the future works.