GIS-AHP APPROACH FOR A COMPREHENSIVE FRAMEWORK TO DETERMINE THE SUITABLE REGIONS FOR GEOTHERMAL POWER PLANTS IN IZMIR, TÜRKİYE

Geothermal energy is gaining more reputation and importance around the world. Correspondingly, suitable location selection is a critical step and has become necessary for the successful installation and operation of geothermal power plants. This study investigated suitability of İzmir region, located in the Aegean part of Türkiye, in terms of geothermal power plants applications by using the combination of Geographical Information System and Analytic Hierarchy Process. Based on the request of power plants, thirteen important criteria were evaluated under three main categories named as physical (C1), environmental (C2) and technical (C3). Moreover, expert’s opinions were taken into consideration to calculate the importance of these criteria. Key results showed that İzmir was suitable for geothermal power plants. The final suitability map layer pointed out that %8.73 (1.037 km2) of total area were determined as highly suitable regions in terms of installation. In addition, the obtained suitability map layer was compared with actual geothermal power plants. Based on the comparison study, power plants in Seferihisar were moderately suitable for geothermal power plants while the location of Balçova power plant was highly suitable. Regarding the suitability assessment in the present study, the location of Dikili power plants had the least suitability score.