Sustainable site selection of offshore wind farms using GIS-based multi-criteria decision analysis and analytical hierarchy process. Case study: Island of Crete (Greece)

Abstract A methodological approach for evaluating the surrounding marine areas of the island of Crete (Greece) is presented in this chapter, so as to highlight the most sustainable scenarios, concerning the installation of Offshore Wind Farms (OWFs). Different types of 16 evaluation criteria such as environmental, techno-economical and socio-political are recommended, such as distances from: Submerged Cables, Areas of Environmental Interest, Shipping/Air Routes, National Grid, Military areas, Shoreline, Fishing Areas, Existing Roads, Heritage Sites, Cities and Settlements, Mining Areas and Activities and also Wind resources, Water Depth, Seabed substrate, Noise Level, and Optical Disturbance. A panel should be gathered to rank the alternative priorities following the main aspects of the Analytical Hierarchy Process. Additionally, this procedure utilizes Geographic Information Systems in order to deploy a site spatial assessment of the study area. The penetration of the applicability of the spatial analysis, based on multi-criteria decision analysis can offer precise optimizations of sustainable siting of OWFs on continental coasts and islands. Eventually, the developed methodology could be adopted by all stakeholders and competent authorities as a decision-making tool.