MCDM Approach to Offshore Wind Farm Site Selection in Indian EEZ Considering Climate Change

This paper focuses at the use of Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) methodologies for optimal wind farm site selection in India. The study examines possible sites using a systematic process that incorporates the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) and comprises data from stakeholder interactions, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and remote sensing. In this study, wind speeds from climate model's ensemble are used to assess the influence of climate change on the suitability of identified regions. A comparison of selected regions under historical, near future, and far future scenarios is performed. The application of these methodologies is analyzed within Indian EEZ. The results show that 19% of the total study area falls under class 4 and class 5 categories, which are suitable for wind farm installation. In the near future, there is a 2% and 4% improvement in the selected regions under RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5 scenarios, respectively, compared to historical period.