Assessing Ukraine’s Solar Power Potential: A Comprehensive Analysis Using Satellite Data and Fuzzy Logic

This study evaluates the land suitability for the placement of solar power stations in Ukraine, utilizing satellite data on climate factors (Global Horizontal Irradiance, temperature, precipitation, wind speed), topography (elevation, slope), and land use. Fuzzy logic, pairwise comparisons, and weighted linear combination methods were utilized to develop a high-resolution (100 m) land suitability map for the installation of solar power plants. The results show that more than half (54.5%) of Ukraine’s territory has a high suitability score (exceeding 0.65) for solar power stations, particularly in the southern and eastern regions, such as Odessa, Kherson, Mykolaiv, Zaporizhia, Donetsk, and Crimea. Only 10.68% of the land has a suitability score less than 0.6, and 18.18% is deemed absolutely unsuitable (with a score of 0, due to land cover), primarily located in the western and northern parts of the country. This indicates that Ukraine has significant potential for green energy production. The study provides an effective and useful tool for decision-making on the optimal location of solar power facilities in Ukraine.