Spatial Location of Renewable Energy Plants: How Good Is Good Enough?

Land suitability analysis for renewable energy (RE) plants is gradually becoming multidisciplinary. The integration of Geographical Information System (GIS) with Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) tools has proven effective in such studies. From the trend in the literature, both experts in GIS and non-experts use these tools. There exist several factors that determine the suitability of a site for an intended purpose. In this study, factors specific to the reliability and accuracy of the results of GIS-MCDM approach to siting RE plants are reviewed. The reliability of the results from this integrated tool is hinged on the accuracy of principal milestones in the analysis. Four of these were identified in this article: data integrity, sensitivity analysis, correct use of tools, criteria weight assignment. It was concluded that apart from the identified dots in achieving high reliability and accuracy of the suitability analysis, ground verification is highly essential as this helps to verify the reality of the seemingly virtual analysis.