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GIS-AHP Multi-Decision-Criteria-Analysis for the Optimal Location of Solar Energy Plants at Indonesia

A reliable tool for site-suitability assessment of solar power plants capable to account for the sustainable development and protection of cultural and biodiversity conservation areas is proposed. We present a novel Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) based approach for the Multi-Decision Criteria Analysis (MDCA) of SSI satellite retrieved data and local information sources, it within a GIS platform tailored to fit the needs of energy stakeholders at Indonesia, simultaneously ensuring the conservation of legally protected areas. This imposes significant challenges due to the wide diversification of cultural, natural, and ecological protected areas that need to be considered, in landmarks that demand for high resolution imaging of surface solar irradiance (SSI) within $\pm 4^{\circ}$ of the equator. To overcome these challenges, a GIS spatial weighted overlay analysis for criteria layers such as climatology, topography, electrical grid, and road infrastructure has been performed, it based on the technical and economic feasibility for solar plants deployment within three approximation schemes focused on their proximity to the existing (i) power network, (ii) road infrastructure, and (iii) community settlements. Here, we focused on the West Kalimantan Province of Borneo Island (WKP), it mainly due to its possibility of onshore inter-connectivity and energy share with Malaysia and Brunei, and the high national and international importance that brings forward the protection of the biodiversity of Borneo. It has been found that the optimal location of PV plants can be reduced to just $0.03\%$ ($46.60~km^{2}$) and $0.07\%$ ($108.58~{km}^{2}$) of WKP, in what we report as the best-suitable conditions out of the $33.05\%$ exploitable area found after the exclusion of conservation areas. This corresponds to ...