Potential zones identification for harvesting wind energy resources in desert region of India - A multi criteria evaluation approach using remote sensing and GIS

Renewable energy is considered to be one of the viable options in consideration of intense economic development and increasing energy consumption. With maturity of advanced technologies, economical viable and environmental friendly, wind energy has become one of the fastest growing sources of renewable energy in the world. This study focuses on the combined use of geographic information systems (GIS) and spatial multi-criteria decision analysis for selecting the most appropriate sites for wind-farm development projects. This paper utilized wind speed data over a period of almost 20 years between 1991 and 2010 from different stations to assess the wind power potential sites. The wind energy potential zones were grouped into four categories as “high suitable”, “moderate suitable”, “low suitable” and “not suitable”. The results show that the study area has 12.20% (2787.78 km2) as high suitable, 17.06% (3899.78 km2) as moderate suitable and 11.06% (2528.61 km2) as low suitable. The most potential suitable sites were located in the northwestern (along Osian, Shergargh, Dechu, and Shaitrawa, Phalodi) of Jodhpur district, India. This scientific approach will enable resource managers during planning process to make informed decisions.