GIS-BASED MULTI-CRITERIA DECISION ANALYSIS FOR NEARSHORE WIND ENERGY IN SWEDEN

Abstract: With more and more countries transforming their energy focus onto renewable energy, the growth of wind energy is at its all-time high. Despite being a relatively new technology, offshore wind has thrived rapidly in the past decade. Sweden has been incorporating offshore wind energy into marine spatial planning (MSP) and national interest in energy production with a view to realizing the national goals of 100% renewable electricity generation by 2040 and net zero emissions by 2045. The goal of this study is to identify locations that are suitable for harvesting wind energy resources in nearshore sea areas of Sweden, with the consideration of social, environmental, economic, and technical criteria. The spatial analysis was performed by the combination of Geographical Information System (GIS) and Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA). Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) was the MCDA method adopted, where the criteria, including 11 constraints and 5 factors, were identified and examined by processes of weighted linear overlay (WLC) and Boolean overlay respectively. Then, the suitability index (SI) was computed and a suitability map, showing 4 classes of suitability, was generated.The results show that less than half of the Swedish coastal sea areas are highly or fairly suitable for offshore wind power development, while the rest was unsuitable. The unsuitable areas were mainly a consequence of the constraints of protected areas and military-related claims. The results were also compared to the areas indicated in the municipal plans for wind power, the national interest for wind energy production, as well as the existing and rejected wind turbines. This indicated that the study results correspond well with them and that the space for offshore wind energy is still plentiful despite the large exclusion area. The applied methodology and results of this study can be a stepping stone to planning authorities and developers in the planning decision-making process.