GIS-based wind farm suitability assessment using fuzzy AHP multi-criteria approach: the case of Herat, Afghanistan

The negative impacts of fossil fuel and nuclear energy for generating electricity on the environment have created a need to find and use clean, renewable, and sustainable energy resources such as wind, solar, and geothermal resources. This study aims to locate the best suitable locations for siting wind farms in Herat province/Afghanistan with a geographic information system (GIS)–based multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) method. The most prominent factors affecting wind farm location considered in this study are annual average wind speed, slope, distance from residential areas, distance from power transmission lines, distance to roads, and land cover/land use (LULC). Equal buffer zones are created using the policies and regulations of different countries to prevent security disruptions around roads, residential areas, and existing power transmission lines. The fuzzy analytical hierarchy process (fuzzy AHP) is used to derive weights for each criterion, considering their relative importance. The final suitability map is generated using a weighted overlay tool in the ArcGIS Pro environment. The results show that 2.9% of the study area is very highly and 12.4% is highly suitable for siting wind farms. Four sites with areas of 537.10 km2, 188.81 km2, 166.97 km2, and 16.40 km2 located in the northeast, north, and northwest of Herat city, are concluded to be the most suitable areas for constructing wind farms. These areas are both near the town and at a close distance to power transmission lines.