Incorporating grid extension into the geospatial multi-criteria analysis of the suitability of multi-renewable energy projects

Geographic information system-assisted multi-criteria analysis is the most popular approach in selecting the most suitable sites for renewable energy projects. The current practice in this approach often takes only one or two technologies at a time (mostly solar and wind), and grid extension has never been considered in the process. This paper presents a methodology for selecting sites for utility-scale renewable energy projects considering solar, wind, biomass, and hydro resources all at once. Splitting the study area according to proximity from the existing grid and extending the latter to relatively distant areas is proposed to account for the possibility that resource quality may outperform grid infrastructure investment. As a parallel research objective, the sensitivity of new (terrain ruggedness index and resource density) and traditional ranking criteria was investigated. The case study showed that a resource over 5 km away from the grid is a better project option when the grid is extended.