A web-based tool framing a collective method for optimizing the location of a renewable energy facility and its possible application to sustainable STEM education

Abstract

In this study, a prototype web-based tool is introduced for the estimation of the Location Suitability Assessment of a Biomass Plant (LSABP): input demands, inner procedures, and output results in response to various levels of government strategies. A collective methodology of Geographic Information System-Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (GIS-MCDA) and the Fuzzy-DEcision-MAking Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (F-DEMATEL) is presented. After implementing the Weighted Linear Combination (WLC) and two-way sensitivity analysis, we accomplish the most suitable biomass plants’ locations. The developed web-based tool framing the collective method targets and generates Multi-Criteria-Spatial Decision Support System (MC-SDSS). Precisely, four main sections are described as general overview, MC-SDSS, two-way sensitivity analysis, and final result section for the LSABP. In final result section, users particularly test the location suitability option for five biomass plants with the chosen criteria. The results confirm that the suitable locations of biomass plants are situated near forests and in zones with low transport costs, which comprise only 9.25% highly suitable area. Five plants are not located in the highly suitable areas. The most influential criteria of the LSABP are the vegetation cover, agricultural area, transport cost, and potential demand criteria. By assessing diverse alternatives, the LSABP assists certain decisions for adjusting and analyzing the setting of biomass facilities on a strategic, tactical, and operational level. Therefore, this work demonstrates the novelty of framework development as a cleaner production for integrating globally accessible spatial and environmental algorithms and datasets in computing with newly designed and implemented an interactive web-based tool for the evaluation purpose of various personal and government levels. Particularly, it is necessary to apply its experience to the possible sustainable Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education, which requires constant acquisition of knowledge and its dissemination.