The competitive value of territorial resources for photovoltaic energy on the island of Gran Canaria

• Main Authors: Francisco Santana Sarmiento, Francisca Rosa Álamo Vera, Petra De Saá Pérez
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: University of Prince Edward Island 2017-05-01
• Series: Island Studies Journal
• Subjects: Canary Islands; GIS; Gran Canaria; islands; land use; multi-criteria assessment; photovoltaic energy; territorial resource
• Online Access: http://www.islandstudies.ca/sites/default/files/ISJSantanaSarmientoPhotovoltaicEnergyGranCanaria.pdf

This work aims to identify the most suitable location for photovoltaic power plants on the Spanish island of Gran Canaria. To that end, we propose a methodology which will assess those physical territorial resources involved in the development of photovoltaic solar energy by means of two devices: the available territorial resource map and the available territorial resource index. In order to achieve this objective, multi-criteria analysis through an analytical hierarchy process with geographical information systems was used. The empirical analysis concluded that a large percentage of the island territory enjoys excellent potential for the setting-up of photovoltaic plants. The contribution of this research is particularly important in an island context, since it is in this type of territory where such tools are especially relevant to plan the best use of limited land area and availability.