Conclusion

Abstract

In the present investigation six different nature-based meta-heuristics were used to estimate the decision for selection of locations for installation of hydropower plants. Twenty different factors that can influence the potentiality of hydropower plants were used as criteria and three alternatives have been proposed. The aim of the study was to adjudge the performance efficiency of nature-based algorithms in decision making. That is why all the three alternatives have a known hydroelectricity potential and the decisions were matched with the potential to find the level of accuracy of the algorithm. The BAT was found to be a better performer than the other six models; the reason being that BAT determines weightage at which the difference between coherent and non-coherent variables is the maximum. Algorithms that are linear or where the weightage of importance is not considered have performed poorly. The Fuzzy Logic and BAT, both of which consider weightage for making a decision, has been found to perform satisfactorily. The results from BAT and Fuzzy and according to KAPPA Coefficient of Agreement results make these two algorithms better than the other considered algorithms (neural network, neuro-genetic, neuro-fuzzy and AHP) for prediction of the selection feasibility of a location for installation of HPP. After going through the results it can be concluded that neural network or hybrid algorithms utilized with the same algorithm may have performed poorly due to the requirement of sufficient training data set and computational infrastructures to learn the problem from this given training dataset. Although training dataset is available satisfactorily but limitations in the computational infrastructure may have limited the performance of the said algorithms. In case of hybrid algorithms the same requirement gets doubled. The same study can be repeated with more alternatives and different other algorithms for a more convincing conclusion regarding the potentiality of nature based algorithm in selecting suitable sites for hydropower plants or other related multi criteria decision making problems.