Developing an environmental decision making model for optimal solar and wind energy utilization

Abstract

Energy plays a prominent role in human society. As a result of technological and industrial development, the demand for energy is rapidly increasing. Existing power sources that are mainly non-renewables are leaving an unacceptable legacy of waste and pollution apart from diminishing stock of fuels. This problem has led to emergence of Solar and Wind Energy Technology which is considered to be free and clean to the environment. As a matter of fact, this statement is false and therefore, it is important to investigate the environmental impacts of these two sources of energy for optimal utilization. A model is developed to aid in decision making on social, health, ecosystem and emission impacts. This model uses Modified ReCiPe and PowerSizing models on MATLAB. The simulated results show that solar PV causes Ozone depletion by 30.15% while wind reduces it by 81.86%. The user friendly decisions are made from the EEDMM chart.