GIS APPLICATION FOR DETERMINING POTENTIAL LOCATIONS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF WIND POWER PLANTS

The energy demand—in Indonesia in particular—and generally in the world are increasing due to population growth, economic growth, and the pattern of energy consumption. Meanwhile, petroleum reserves are estimated to decrease. Therefore, a solution to diversify electricity power plants with environmental friendly alternative energy sources is wind energy. Gunung Kidul regency is one of the regencies that is suitable as a potential location for wind power plants with an average wind speed of more than 4 m/s and has a frequency of more than 90 days. The purpose of this research is to analyze the most potential locations for wind power plants. The variables used in this research are average wind speed, road network, residential area, slope, altitude, and land use in 2015. The data was collected from agencies such as the Geospatial Information Agency, WindPRO wind energy consultancy, and field surveys. The results are processed using ArcGIS and WRPlot View. Potential location is determined using spatial analysis, and the electricity demand of the potential region is determined using descriptive analysis. The result indicates that the possible site for the development of wind power plants is in Tepus village, Gunung Kidul Regency. The average wind speed was 6,2 m/s, with the dominant wind direction blowing from the southeast and frequencies ranging from 9 to 198 days. The electricity demand in Tepus Village based on survey results in 2019 is up to 308.758 kWh/month, with the highest market coming from the housing sector with a power of 450 VA.