Heatmaps to Guide Siting of Solar and Wind Farms

Decarbonization of the electricity system coupled with electrification of transport, heat and industry represents a practical and cost-effective approach to deep decarbonization. A key question is: where to build new solar and wind farms? This study presents a cost-based approach to evaluate land parcels for solar and wind farm suitability using colour-coded heatmaps that visually depict favourable locations. An indicative cost of electricity is calculated for each pixel by focusing on key factors including resource availability, proximity to transmission infrastructure or load centres, and exclusion of sensitive areas. The proposed approach mitigates the subjectivity associated with traditional multi-criteria decision-making methods, in which both the selection of siting factors and the assignment of their associated weightings rely highly on the subjective judgments of experts. The methodology is applied to Australia, South Korea, and Indonesia, and the results are made publicly available to provide both qualitative and quantitative information that allows comparisons between regions and within a region. The study aims to empower policymakers, developers, communities and individual landholders to make informed decisions, and ultimately, facilitate strategic renewable energy deployment and contribute to global decarbonization.