Optimal location of hydraulic energy storage using geographic information systems and multi-criteria analysis

Abstract

In recent years, society's concern for sustainable development and the environment has grown to the point where renewable energies have become one of the main pillars of this interest. One problem that arises when producing large quantities of renewable energies is the storage and the integration of this production into the grid, which, amongst other possible options, can be solved by means of reversible power plants or pumped storage. For all these reasons, in recent years there has been a growing interest in searching for locations in which to install these types of plants, which have high energy and territorial requirements. This research develops a methodological proposal that allows in the context of Geographic Information Systems to detect and evaluate the most appropriate places to implement this type of facilities in a quasi-automatic way. The methodology proposes a multi-criteria analysis that makes it possible to analyse large extensions of land with ten criteria that cover the energy and territorial requirements that all installations must have, duly weighted. The method assigns each reservoir a location coefficient that reflects the weighting of the ten criteria chosen, so that the value ordered from the highest to the lowest reflects the best to worst location. The proposed methodology is much more consistent than traditional methods because it uses a multi-criteria system and a statistically consistent weighting mechanism, as well as being objective and based on logical criteria. The analysis is general and once the location has been chosen, the corresponding detailed project will be carried out. The proposal is innovative because it involves carrying out the environmental and urban analysis during the decision-making process for the site.