Wave energy site and converter selection with multi-criteria decision making: a case study

Due to the increase in energy demand, the decline of fossil fuels in the coming years, climate change and environmental pollution, demand for renewable energy sources is growing rapidly. Many studies have been made on the potential of wave energy in the world and many wave energy converters have been developed. Although there is wave energy potential in Turkey, wave energy is hardly exploited. Main purpose of this study is to determine the most appropriate site and converter type for a wave energy power plant planned to be built in Turkey. For this purpose, a two-phased multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) structure is constructed. Analytic Network Process (ANP) and Fuzzy TOPSIS (Technique for Order Preference by Similarly to Ideal Solution) are selected as MCDM methods. Five cities located in the Black Sea coast which have high wave energy potential are selected as alternatives to the installation sites of the wave energy power plant. In the first phase, Sinop is determined as the most suitable wave energy power plant site by ANP. In the second phase, the most suitable wave energy converter to be installed in Sinop is determined as Oyster among the five alternatives by Fuzzy TOPSIS.