A goal programming model for the optimal mix and location of renewable energy plants in the north of Spain

The capacity expansion planning problem of the renewable energy industry involves decisions regarding the optimal mix of different plant types, locations where each plant should be built, and capacity expansion decisions over the planning horizon for each plant. The aim of this paper is to develop a goal programming model, based on a multi-source multi-sink network, in order to locate five renewable energy plants for electric generation in five places located in the autonomous region of Cantabria, in the north of Spain. As different types of plants can be placed in each location, the goal is to locate one plant in each place, maximizing the number of plants that are matched with comparable locations, in a way that the total deviations from goals are minimized.