A Model for Optimizing Location Selection for Biomass Energy Power Plants

• Main Authors: Chia-Nan Wang, Tsang-Ta Tsai, Ying-Fang Huang
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2019-06-01
• Series: Processes
• Subjects: biomass energy; site selection; optimization; MCDM; FMCDM; FAHP; TOPSIS
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9717/7/6/353

In addition to its potential for wave power, wind power, hydropower, and solar power, it can be said that Vietnam is a country with great potential for biomass energy derived from agricultural waste, garbage, and urban wastewater, which are resources widely available across the country. This huge amount of biomass, however, if left untreated, could become a major source of pollution and cause serious impacts on ecosystems (soil, water, and air), as well as on human health. In this research, the authors present a fuzzy multicriteria decision-making model (FMCDM) for optimizing the site selection process for biomass power plants. All of the criteria affecting location selection are identified by experts and literature reviews; in addition, the fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (FAHP) method was utilized so as to identify the weight of all of the criteria in the second stage. Furthermore, the Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to an Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) is applied for ranking potential locations in the final stage of this research. As a result, Long An (DMU/005) was found to be the best location for building biomass energy in Vietnam. The main contributions of this work include modeling the site selection decision process under fuzzy environment conditions. The proposed approaches also can address the complex problems in site selection; it is also a flexible design model for considering the evaluation criteria, and is applicable to location selection for other industries.