Optimal wind energy site selection in Egypt using a GIS–AHP and remote sensing-based approach

Abstract Delivering affordable, reliable, and sustainable electricity in lower-middle-income countries requires spatially explicit tools that translate remote-sensing and infrastructure data into decision support for sustainable development planning. Focusing on Egypt, we update the national wind-energy suitability map using a Geographic Information System (GIS) and a multi-criteria decision analysis framework. High-resolution spatial inputs—remote-sensing-derived land use/land cover and updated road and electrical-grid networks—are integrated and weighted across eight criteria using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). The results indicate that approximately 1.60% of Egypt's land area (≈ 15,985 km 2 ) is highly suitable for wind development, 6.55% (≈ 65,594 km 2 ) is moderately suitable, and 0.61% (≈ 6,117 km 2 ) is of low suitability, while 91.25% (≈ 914,144 km 2 ) is restricted under the imposed constraints, with priority zones concentrated along the Red Sea corridor. The spatial concentration of wind-suitable land supports a diversified renewable-energy strategy in which wind development is complemented by solar and other renewables aligned to national targets. The resulting suitability surface is a reproducible, national-scale screening layer that can help planners and investors shortlist corridors for pre-feasibility study, anticipate permitting buffers, and align grid reinforcement with high-quality resource areas. It is intended as a decision-support input that precedes, rather than replaces, site-specific feasibility, environmental impact and protected-area assessment, and on that basis it supports Sustainable Development Goal 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy) and Egypt’s Integrated Sustainable Energy Strategy 2035 (ISES-2035).