Identifying Suitable Sites for Wind Farm Development in the Coastal Areas: A Case of Northern Gulf of Oman, Iran

Constructing wind power plants is a multidimensional activity, which determines land potential based on a series of effective criteria and indicators. Accordingly, in the present study, a list of location indicators for wind farms development in the north of Oman Gulf (Sistan and Baluchistan Province) was presented through theoretical literature review and expert viewpoints. Then, location indicators were screened using the Delphi method and weighting by the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) model. In this study, combining layers using the weight linear combination (WLC) method and, finally, identifying areas with spatial value for wind farm development and prioritization of these areas using numerical estimating method (technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution [TOPSIS]) and artificial intelligence optimization (whale optimization algorithm [WOA]). According to the results of the Delphi method, 14 indicators have been identified, with selected indicators related to the role and necessity of application, including average wind speed, wind continuity, and wind power density as mandatory indicators of capability and distance from military operational areas and distance to historical monuments as mandatory restriction indicators. Based on the weighting results and the combination of indicators, the coastal area was divided into four categories: weak, medium, suitable, and very suitable. Among classes, suitable class covers about 36% of the studied area. As the results show, the cities of Dashtyari and Chabahar have the highest priority for wind farm development, followed by the cities of Zarabad and Konarak. Likewise, in this study, the WOA method achieved the best results, according to root mean square error (RMSE) and R² outcomes. According to the results obtained, 75% of the identified areas are suitable and very suitable for wind farms development. Therefore, by prioritizing coastal cities, wind farms can be developed in this province.