A GIS approach for the siting of solar thermal power plants application to Tunisia

Abstract : Many geographical parameters have to be taken into account when choosing the site for a solar thermal power plant. The direct normal radiation level should be high. The wind climatology is acceptable if the percentage of strong winds is low. To provide the back up energy, the plant should be close to the existing natural gas distribution network. Proximity of the national grid is also required to transport the electric energy production to the consumers. A flat land with an area of at least 150 ha with road access is required for a 80 MW solar plant. The availability of water for the cooling of the Rankine cycle should be checked. We present here a decision support tool based on a GIS software that takes into account these geographical parameters. We applied the methodology in Tunisia to validate the siting of a new solar power plant at Skhira and to study the variation of the electricity cost.