A decision framework of offshore photovoltaic power station site selection based on Pythagorean fuzzy ELECTRE-III method

Offshore photovoltaic power stations (OPVPS) greatly help solve energy problems and land resource scarcity. A crucial phase of the OPVPS project lifecycle is site selection. To select the optimal location of OPVPS with many difficulties such as the uncertainty of the environment, the compensating relationships among criteria, and the different attributes of the alternatives, this paper proposed a fuzzy multi-criteria decision-making framework based on Pythagorean fuzzy Elimination et Choix Traduisant la Realité-III (ELECTRE-III) method. First, the comprehensive criteria system for siting OPVPS was constructed, which included veto and evaluation criteria. Second, the Pythagorean fuzzy set was used to express the uncertain evaluation of experts. Third, considering the actual situation that experts had different experiences and abilities, this paper proposed a novel expert weighting method. Fourth, entropy weighting method, best–worst method, and combination weighting of game theory were introduced to calculate the criteria weights. Fifth, considering the compensation between criteria, ELECTRE-III was used for ranking. Finally, to verify the applicability and robustness of the proposed framework, a China case study was conducted; the results showed that Haizhou Bay is the best alternative.