Site selection of solar farms for district malakand using Analytical hierarchy process (ahp)

The energy deficiency of the modern world can only be overcome by the proper utilization of the renewable energy resources. Pakistan and specially Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) province is facing major energy problems, to reduce these problems one of the option is to install solar farms in different areas of the KPK province. This research paper, deals with site selection for solar farm in Malakand Division. There are many sites in Malakand Division, but selection of the most suitable site for the solar farm is important because it needs investment in millions. The Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP), is used by which Shergarh, Skha kot, Dargai, Malakand, Batkhela and Thana were alternatives. Eight factors were considered, namely Quality of Terrain, Land’s Price, Security, Weather, Local Transmission Capacity, Proximity to transmission lines, Agricultural concern and Population. After strong brain storming, surveys (related to the data collection of different factors) and meetings with different government officials and local area people’s. The calculations were based on AHP and finally it was concluded that THANA with weight (0.1927) is the most suitable site for the solar farm to be installed. In future work it is suggested to use Multiple Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) integrated with Geographic Information System (GIS) to select a suitable and feasible site and then compare the results.