energies Article Location Study of Solar Thermal Power Plant in the State of Pernambuco Using Geoprocessing Technologies and Multiple-Criteria Analysis Verônica Wilma B. Azevêdo 1, Ana Lúcia B. Candeias 2 and Chigueru Tiba 1,* 1 Departamento de Energia Nuclear, Centro de Tecnologias e Geociências, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Av. Prof. Luiz Freire, 1000, Cidade Universitária, Recife PE 50.740-540, Brazil; [email protected] 2 Departamento de Engenharia Cartográfica, Centro de Tecnologias e Geociências, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Av. Acadêmico Hélio Ramos, s/n, 2nd Floor, Cidade Universitária, Recife PE 50.740-530, Brazil; [email protected] * Correspondence: [email protected]; Tel.: +55-81-2126-7976 Academic Editor: Francesco Calise Received: 23 May 2017; Accepted: 13 July 2017; Published: 20 July 2017 Abstract: Solar Thermal Technology for the generation of electricity in large scale has been a reality in the world since the 1980s, when the first large-sized solar plants in the United States were introduced. Brazil presents great potential for the development of large-scale projects, although it is noted that the main barriers for the insertion of this technology in Brazilian market are the lack of incentives and goals and associated costs. In a way to contribute to the insertion of solar thermal technology in Brazil, this paper presents a macro-spatial approach, based on the use of Multiple-Criteria Decision Analysis and Geoprocessing, for the location of solar thermal power plants. The applied methodology for Pernambuco, located in the Northeast Region of Brazil, considered the implantation of parabolic trough solar power plant of 80 MW, operating only in solar mode, without heat storage. Based on performed analysis, it was confirmed that Pernambuco presents great potential for the installation of solar power plants, especially in the backlands of Pernambuco. Performed validations in the model demonstrate that the methodology attended the objective once the consistence between the assigned weights to the thematic layers, individually, and the final Map of site suitability were evidenced. Keywords: Solar Energy; Solar Thermal Power Plant; Geoprocessing Technologies 1. Introduction Notably, in the past few years, electricity generation through renewable sources has presented continuous increase, which mostly relates to the concerns of climate changes, the dependency of fossil fuels and the need to supply power generation with resources that cause less impact to the environment. According to data in the Global Status Report on Renewable Energy [1], the installed capacity of renewable energy in the world, which was of 800 GW in early 2004, reached 1712 GW in the year of 2014 and its participation in the energy matrix also increased, reaching the percentage of 22.8% in 2014. Brazil has a mainly renewable energy matrix. According to data in the National Energetic Statement, about 74.6% of electric energy generated in 2014 came from renewable energy sources, with greater participation of water (65.2%), biomass (7.4%) and wind (2.0%) resources. The remaining percentage (25.4%) came from fossil fuels and nuclear sources, as shown in Figure1. 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