AUTHOR=Heydari Fatemehzahra , Maleki Akbar , Jabari Moghadam Ali , Haghighat Siavash 

TITLE=Emplacement of the Photovoltaic Water Pumping System in Remote Areas by a Multi-Criteria Decision-Making Method: A Case Study

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Energy Research

VOLUME=Volume 9 - 2021

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/energy-research/articles/10.3389/fenrg.2021.770981

DOI=10.3389/fenrg.2021.770981

ISSN=2296-598X

ABSTRACT=Utilizing the solar energy from photovoltaic panels integrated in a water pumping systems to provide electricity for dispersed villages which have no access to back up systems, not only reduces the electricity grid costs and environmental pollutants but also is an innovative approach in areas with sufficient solar irradiation. Therefore, identifying and studying the feasibility of stand-alone solar power plants in various locations is the first step in using this reliable source of energy. For this reason, 93 sites in Razavi Khorasan, Northern Khorasan and Southern Khorasan provinces, Iran were chosen by the renewable energies organization engineers as regions with high potential for establishing a solar water pumping station. The goal of this research is prioritizing 93 sites and finding the perfect location for establishing the aforementioned station. In order to investigate and prioritize these sites, a multi-criteria decision-making method, namely TOPSIS, has been used. Therefore, the geographical location of sites and the weather in these provinces have been studied and consequently, 15 important and essential criteria including slope, solar irradiation, precipitation, wind speed, relative humidity, altitude, distance from substation, distance from grid, obtainable solar energy capacity, distance from river, population, distance from city center, distance from road, average temperature and number of dams in the vicinity of the site have been chosen. All of the aforementioned criteria have been weighted using Shannon entropy method and then sites have been prioritized using the TOPSIS method. Results indicate that Sarayan, Isk, Esfadan and Dashtbyaz in Southern Khorasan and then Beydokht 2 in Razavi Khorasan are the top 5 locations and Shosef in Southern Khorasan is the least favorite location for establishing a solar pumping station. In order to achieve a more reliable result, sensitivity analysis has been implemented.