Selection of Potential Sites for Sustainable Development of Solar Photovoltaic Plants in Northeastern Brazil Using GIS and Multi-Criteria Analysis

Brazil has one of the highest percentages of solar radiation in the world and which it is a favorable condition to generate electricity using solar photovoltaic systems. The construction of photovoltaic plants depends on the site selection that influences the electricity generation capacity and the socio-economic benefits that can be derived from it in the future. This article proposes to combine Spatial analysis that involves the acquisition and management of spatial data using a Geographic Information System (GIS), and the fuzzy multi-criteria AHP-TOPSIS model to identify potential locations for the installation of solar photovoltaic systems in the northeastern region of Brazil, State of Pernambuco. The combination of GIS and fuzzy AHP-TOPSIS offers the user the possibility of assigning merit categories to the mapping according to multiple assessment criteria. The GIS include factors of the restrictions and criteria. The restrictions are inserted into the GIS using layers defined from current legislation (urban areas, undeveloped land, community sites, infrastructure, etc.), which reduce the study area by eliminating zones in which PV installation is not permitted. The results show that 22 and 40% of the area of the state of Pernambuco has the very high and high potential, respectively, for the implantation of PV.