A Literature Review of the Use of GIS-Based Multi-Criteria AHP Technique for Optimal Siting of Wind Energy Sources

Abstract

Over the last years of the era of the modern Egyptian state, we have witnessed a remarkable development in all different sectors. To be able to continue this development, it was necessary to pay attention to the energy sector and its development, by dispensing with the main dependence on fossil fuels and finding new sources of energy that are less harmful to the environment, less costly and more abundant. The interest of the Egyptian state, represented by the Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy, appeared in the search for various renewable energy sources such as wind energy, solar energy, and others. Our role as researchers is to assist the state in making decisions about determining the optimal sites for the establishment of renewable energy plants of various kinds, based on the criteria for each of these types of stations. This is indeed what has been worked on in several previous studies and research in recent years. In this research, we have reviewed the most important researches related to choosing the best renewable energy sites (specifically wind energy as a model) in the Arab Republic of Egypt and other countries. The results were reviewed, and comparisons were made between the different study areas and the methodology of each research to clarify the effectiveness of geographic information systems in completing the decisionmaking process to determine the best sites for energy harvesting, and accordingly choosing the best sites for constructing wind power plants. Note that the researches reviewed here is based on Multi-Criteria decision analysis (MCDA) by analytical hierarchy process (AHP) method using Geographic Information System (GIS).