BiyiO/Northern-Nigeria-Solar-Suitability

# Utility-Scale Solar PV Farm Site Suitability Modeling ### Northern Nigeria Solar Corridor (Kano, Jigawa, and Katsina States) -success.svg) An industrial-grade **Spatial Decision Support System (SDSS)** for utility-scale ground-mounted solar photovoltaic (PV) farm site prospecting across the **Northern Nigeria Solar Corridor** (Kano, Jigawa, and Katsina States). This model integrates **Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP)** Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA), **High-Voltage Grid & Substation Proximity Modeling**, and **Multi-Layer Boolean Environmental & Civil Exclusion Constraints** to identify, evaluate, and rank bankable solar energy sites. It aligns with Nigeria's **Energy Transition Plan (ETP)**, the **30:30:30 Clean Energy Vision**, and the African Development Bank's (**AfDB**) **10 GW "Desert to Power" Initiative**. --- ## 🗺️ Master Cartographic Suitability Map --- ## 🌟 Key Highlights & Findings - **Study Area Extent:** $67,849.9\text{ km}^2$ ($6,784,995\text{ hectares}$) across Kano, Jigawa, and Katsina States in the Sahelian solar belt. - **Resource Endowment:** Mean Global Horizontal Irradiance (GHI) exceeds $5.85\text{ kWh/m}^2/\text{day}$ ($> 2,190\text{ kWh/m}^2/\text{yr}$), representing the top 5% solar radiation resources in Africa. - **Environmental Exclusion:** $2,078.1\text{ km}^2$ ($3.06\%$ of total landscape) strictly zeroed-out to safeguard water bodies (Tiga & Challawa Dams), the **Ramsar Hadejia-Nguru Wetlands**, urban centers, and steep slopes ($> 12^\circ$). - **AHP Model Consistency:** Principal eigenvalue $\lambda_{\max} = 6.0229$, Consistency Index $CI = 0.0046$, and **Consistency Ratio $CR = 0.0037$ ($0.37\% \ll 10\%$)**, verifying peer-reviewed mathematical rigor. - **Regional Solar Potential:** - **Optimal (Class 5 - Prime Sites):** $8,085.3\text{ km}^2$ ($12.29\%$) $\rightarrow$ **$323.4\text{ GW}$** - **Highly Suitable (Class 4):** $29,213.1\text{ km}^2$ ($44.42\%$) $\rightarrow$ **$1,168.5\text{ GW}$** - **Suitable …