A decision support system in rural renewable energy deployment in the Vhembe District, Limpopo, South Africa

Many countries worldwide integrate renewable energy systems (RES) in their future energy plans to reduce the negative impacts of fossil fuel consumption and carbon emissions on the environment and have focused on sustainable energy options. The current need and challenges to use alternative energy sources are driven by the continued rise in fossil fuel prices, increasing population and migration, and energy demand, mainly in developing countries, such as South Africa. In addition, the continuous increase in energy demand, global warming, and other environmental problems related to the negative impact of using fossil fuels have raised severe global challenges. The solar, wind, hydro, and biomass resources and their potential to provide alternative energy sources have not been sufficiently utilised. As a result, RES is increasingly being considered as a potential solution for sustainable energy production and reduction of negative environmental impact. To obtain the suitable potentials, it is essential to assess, estimate, and model renewable energy resources in different locations to provide energy end-users, communities, the private sector, and decision makers with accurate, evaluated, and validated data to promote the construction of solar, wind, hydro, and biomass/bioenergy power plants. Furthermore, identifying suitable locations, the available capacity of renewable energy facilities, influencing factors of renewable energy development, and consumption play an essential role in planning renewable energy plants.

The use of remote sensing (RS) technology and GIS tools enable detailed assessment, modelling, and quantification of RES distribution, abundance, and quality that yield an effective and efficient use of available potential. Therefore, determining the optimal locations, capacity and identifying the spatial influencing factors are essential in developing a scientific planning strategy with validated data. This research aims to create a GIS framework for evaluating alternative locations for wind, solar, biomass, biofuels, and hybrid power plants for suitable rural energy deployment. As renewable energy planning is essential, the model will be a valuable tool for decision support in spatial selection and explicit location planning strategies.

In this study, the available energy potential measurements were developed using GIS and RS mappings as tools to assess renewable energy potentials in the Vhembe District Municipality from the perspective of spatial planning. The study's specific aims are to quantify and map the wind, solar, hydro, and bioenergy potential from a theoretical level, as well as environmental restrictions, and to analyse the suitability of the location for small power plants.

For other regions, the proposed decision support methodology provides a multi-purpose approach for a complex exploration of RES potentials and their exploitation under specific environments and conditions. As a result, the methodology employed in this study can be used in other study areas to assess renewable energy potential in identifying new profitable regions based on the land suitability results that integrate spatial information from remote sensing. Lastly, from the results produced, the available potential can be used in the mapping process in other regions.