PROGRAMME

The use of wind potential and the protection of biodiversity are two conflicting aspects that arise in the development of wind energy projects, generating conflicts between different stakeholders. The aim of this study is to develop a methodology for assessing the suitability of existing wind farms in mountainous areas with the combined use of Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP), Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) method and Stakeholders Analysis. The application is carried out in the Regional Unit of Ioannina. Twelve assessment criteria have been considered in the analysis and fourteen selected stakeholders have participated in their pairwise comparisons. Four different alternative scenarios are formulated based on the power/interest matrix of stakeholder mapping. The prioritization of the existing wind farms is finally carried out with the use of TOPSIS method for each alternative scenario. The results showed that, for two scenarios the ideal wind farm is located in Variko, while for the other two, the ideal wind farm is located in Katara. The proposed methodology is able to promote spatial energy planning, emphasize the key components of the decision problem, and award participating decisions through a multi-stakeholder traceable and transparent assessment procedure.