A GIS-based approach for prioritization of photovoltaic systems with energy storage implementation for vulnerable community resilience

Javier Moscoso-Cabrera, Edgar Cruz-Vallejo, Cristian Meléndez-González, Eduardo Ortiz-Rivera University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez, PR, United States

Around 44.5% of the Puerto Rican population living in the archipelago live under the federal poverty line. For context, 36 of 78 municipalities (46.15% of the total) under this condition. It is evidenced that hurricane response and critical service restoration in Puerto Rico can last more than a year for many communities, particularly the most vulnerable. On top of this, losing electricity service also means losing water service for many because when power outages occur, many of the water pump plants also lose service. There are more than 350 community centers all around the Puerto Rican archipelago than have been established throughout the years. However, many seem to be abandoned or not in continuous use. Recent events have led to the news of millions of dollars in federal funds for the installation of solar PV systems. By combining the use of GIS and Multi-Criteria Decision Making methodologies (MCDM) like Analitic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Grey Relational Analysis (GRA), the authors propose a prioritization model for the implementation of emergency PV systems equipped with energy storage as a means to support community resilience, address critical needs and revitalize the sense of community all over Puerto Rico. This framework can serve as an example in many countries all around the world as it can be replicated and customized to the needs of the particular use case or administrator preferences.