A Thorough Analysis of Potential Geothermal Project Locations in Afghanistan

Abstract

In recent decades, many countries have shown a growing interest in the use of renewable energies for power generation. Geothermal energy is a clean and environmentally friendly source of renewable energy that can be used to produce electricity and heat for industrial and domestic applications. While Afghanistan has undeniably good geothermal potential that can be utilised to alleviate the country’s current energy limitations, so far this potential has remained completely untapped. In this study, the suitability of 21 provinces for geothermal project implementation in Afghanistan was evaluated using multiple multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) methods. The stepwise weight assessment ratio analysis (SWARA) method was used to weigh each criterion while the additive ratio assessment (ARAS) method was used to rank potential geothermal sites. The technique for order of preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS), the vlse kriterijumsk optimizacija kompromisno resenje (VIKOR), and the weighted aggregated sum product assessment (WASPAS) methods were also used in this study. These rankings were then examined via sensitivity analysis which indicated that a 5% change in criteria weights altered the rankings in all methods except the VIKOR method. Volcanic dome density was ranked the most important criteria. All the methods identified Ghazni province as the most suitable location for geothermal project implementation in Afghanistan.

A Preliminary Geothermal Prospectivity Mapping Based on Integrated GIS, Remote-Sensing, and Geophysical Techniques around Northeastern Nigeria

“…Multicriteria evaluation (MCE) is an active tool used to solve decision-making problems/matters through multiple-input data integration [68]. The main goal of using the MCE technique is to help examine selected probabilities based on multiple evidence layers.…”

A Multicriteria Decision-Making Model for the Selection of Suitable Renewable Energy Sources

“…The proposed model considered business sustainability criteria including economic, technical, environmental, and social criteria. Mostafaeipour et al [27] developed an MCDM-based GIS model to evaluate potential geo-thermal project locations in Afghanistan. The proposed model is based on the stepwise weight assessment ratio analysis (SWARA) method and the additive ratio assessment (ARAS) method.…”

“…For ranking four potential renewable energy: solar energy (A1), wind energy (A2), solid waste energy (A3) and biomass energy (A4), the authors applied the WASPAS model in the final stage using Equations ( 22)-( 27) with the results found in Table 5. For ranking four potential renewable energy: solar energy (A1), wind energy (A2), solid waste energy (A3) and biomass energy (A4), the authors applied the WASPAS model in the final stage using Equations ( 22)- (27) with the results found in Table 5. Based on the normalized matrix that has been converted from the WASPAS method, the matrix is then multiplied with the weight of each criteria determined in Table 4.…”

Techno-Economic Investigation of Using Solar Energy for Heating Swimming Pools in Buildings and Producing Hydrogen: A Case Study

“…Bailey in 1909 (Azizi and Faryadi, 2012). The energy crisis of the 1970s was a wake-up call for all countries in the world that fossil fuels are not the only way to supply energy (Mostafaeipour et al, 2020c). For this purpose, renewable energy sources have been suggested as alternative sources of energy.…”