To select a site for such an installation, certain aspects must be investigated, such as how good the PV power plant location is, and how to minimize the total cost of the project concerning proximity to existing infrastructures while maximizing power output from the solar panels.
Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Electrical Engineering ( (LNEE,volume 686)) Site Selection is a crucial step in installing Solar Power Plant (SPP) as it is determined by a set of quantitative and qualitative factors, which are vague in nature.
While developing a utility-scale solar power plant, various factors or criteria have to be taken care of in selecting the site location. Probable Site Selection of Photovoltaic Power Plant (PVPP) is a complex MCDM process, as the required site has to be climatically and geographically acceptable. It must also have the highest generation potentials.
Proximity to populated areas is considered widely in the literature as a determining factor for the site selection problem for solar PV power plant (Halder et al. 2021). When the solar PV power plant is near populated areas, the energy transmission cost is reduced; however, this may adversely affect the environment.
In order to avoid not in my backyard (NIMBY) opposition and its negative impact on the environment of urban areas, the most effective location for installing a Solar Power Plant is far away from cities for the development of Renewable energy. Some site selection criteria are reviewed under Table 2
The installation of solar PV power plants requires vast land and huge investment. Therefore, it is necessary to select a suitable site to achieve maximum efficiency and low cost. A feasible location of photovoltaic (PV) system must consider certain criteria including land restrictions, access to roads, and transmission lines.