Selection of power plants by evaluation and comparison using graph theoretical methodology

A deterministic quantitative model based on graph theoretical methodology has been developed to compare various technical and economical features of wind, hydro and thermal power plants and is used to evaluate and rank the power plants in ascending or descending order in accordance with the value of their suitability index. The plant with rank 1 is the optimized selection for the customer's/user's desires on the particular application under consideration. This suitability index is the permanent value of the plant attribute matrix, which is a combination of attribute rating matrix and attribute relative importance matrix. Three graphical methods of comprehensive comparison are also suggested to better educate the users/decision makers. The model developed is explained and illustrated with an example problem.