Wind power plants site selection using Boolean model and ArcGIS (Case study: Mazandaran Province)

Recently, Mazandaran Province has needed more energy. Considering the capabilities of this province in generating renewable energy, recognizing the potentials of clean energy generation and consumption, especially wind energy, should be a priority in the plans of managers and researchers. A descriptive, analytical and field approach is used in this study. The spatial capability of wind power plants in Mazandaran Province was evaluated using spatial and quantitative data. In order to initially estimate the energy that can be obtained from wind flow in the province, the necessary calculations were performed on wind direction and velocity information over a period of 12 years. Then, based on the group of experts, documentary and library studies, scientific resources in this field and available data, four climatic, economic, environmental-social and topographical factors, have been selected as the most important indicators to determine suitable areas for the establishment of wind power plants in Mazandaran Province. These four criteria include 18 sub-criteria and after weighting and overlapping, the final zoning map was prepared using the Boolean model. According to the final map, the central strip of the province within the boundaries of Noor, Amol and Babol counties, the northern parts of Noor and Sari counties, the south of Savadkooh and Qaemshahr counties, as well as the central and southern parts of Behshahr county, are more suitable areas than other parts of Mazandaran Province for establishing wind power plants.