Ranking the Wind-Solar Farm Installation by Using the AHP Method Based on the Financial-Economic Index

In recent decades, pollution has caused many problems such as climate change in Iran as well as the world. By considering the Iran's condition and location in Middle East, and the worldwide oil-based economic pressures, it is mandatory to focus on other industries to change the economic pulse of the country. So, stepping into the field of renewable energy is vital. Since Iran is subjected to numerous environmental contaminants, as well as habitats destruction and the loss of agricultural lands in some areas of the country due to the drought, which leads to migration and suburbia phenomenon, it is inevitable to switch to renewable energies, including solar, wind energy, and develop this industry. This study seeks to evaluate and rank the areas in Iran that have not been identified for solar and wind energy electricity generating despite their high potential. After the initial evaluation of the location by considering factors such as latitude, longitude, wind speed and solar radiation, the locations are prioritized with one of the multi-criteria AHP (Analytic Hierarchy Process) weighting methods based on the solar and wind farms criteria such as return on investment, political and economic impacts, wind intensity, radiation angle, etc.). Finally, the best ranking among the top selected areas including Nimroz-Hamoon (Sistan), Behbahan and Shooshtar (Khuzestan), Kerman and Yazd is determined.