Gis-based simulation for solar farm site selection in south-central Vietnam

This research aims to develop a GIS-based simulation for choosing the best location for a solar farm in Binh Thuan province, which is in the low, hilly-mountainous region of South-Central Vietnam. Four groups of criteria (climate, location, land use, and orography), which include eight criteria (solar radiation, land surface temperature; distance to substation, main road, residential area, historical and tourism sites; land use; and slope) are considered for the site selection. Moreover, these criteria are divided into twenty-four sub-criteria which indicate the advantages and disadvantages of each criterion. A method of analytic hierarchy process, then, is applied to determine the relative weight of each group, criterion, and sub-criterion.