Geographic Information System based multi-criteria decision-making for onshore wind farm site selection in Brazil

Abstract Spatial planning and development of wind energy is key to reducing fossil fuels dependency and promoting green economic growth. However, site selection for wind farms is complex involving multiple techno-economic, social, and environmental perspectives. Here, we used a Geographic Information System-based Multi-Criteria Decision-Making approachto conduct the first nationwide onshore wind farm site selection for Brazil, one of the world’s top countries for wind resources and renewable energy. The approach involved 6 evaluation criteria and 14 constraint factors based on the Brazilian country profile, and weights for these criteria were generated using the Analytic Hierarchy Process method based on the result of a survey carried out among Brazilian experts. Under the Wind Power Expansion scenario (to identify all minimally suitable areas for future wind farms), nearly 20% (1,67 million km²) of theBrazilian land was identified suitable, equivalent to a theoretical wind power capacity of 15,812 GW. In comparison, the High Economic Reward scenario (to reveal the most suitable and available areas for future wind farms) indicated a suitable area of 14,268 km², and the best options for installing onshore wind farms were found to be mainly concentrated along the eastern coast, withRio Grande do Norte, Paraiba, and Bahia as the leading states. Our method can be extended to other regions and countries and our empirical results provide precise geographic insights into spatial planning for newonshore wind farm projects for Brazilian decision-makers.