WEDYAN G. NASSIF ^1* YASEEN Al-TIMIMI ¹ DALILA ELHMAIDI ² Amer g. Jeradat ^3,4*

• ¹ Mustansiriyah University, Baghdad, Baghdad, Iraq
• ² Tunis El Manar University, Tunis, Tunisia
• ³ NYC research, Jordan, Jordan
• ⁴ The University of Jordan, Aljubeiha, Amman, Jordan

With the use of renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar, it is important to find strategic places to build big facilities. This is difficult to achieve, because many factors are connected and affect each other. This paper describes a methodical examination of the best places in Iraq to build wind power plants (WPPs) and solar photovoltaic systems (SPVPs). The evaluation is based on combining Geographic Information Systems (GIS) with multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) techniques, and the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) is used to determine the importance of each criterion. The results show that there are large areas (1513 km² and 1280 km², respectively) that are suitable for developing WPPs and SPVPs. These areas comprised 5.3% and 6.2% of the evaluated region, respectively. According to these data, the southwestern and southern regions are the best for wind energy, whereas the central and southern regions are best for solar energy. In addition, hybrid zones that are suitable for both wind and solar energy are mostly found in the southern parts of Iraq. This means that solar radiation and wind patterns come together in a good manner. These results are important for making business plans and policy choices that make the best use of renewable resources. As part of the methodology of this study, wind speed, solar radiation, land slope, and other important factors were carefully collected and analyzed. AHP was very important in assigning these factor weights, which set up the decisionmaking process in the GIS-MCDM framework and produced the final suitability maps. The exact finding of areas suitable for both solar and wind installations shows the potential for integrated renewable energy projects, a new method that makes the results more useful. In summary, this research provides a foundational platform for future renewable energy initiatives within Iraq, with the generated maps serving as a guide for targeted renewable energy deployment. The suitability maps and methodologies described herein affirm the study's alignment with global research trends, while providing a template for informed renewable energy investment and nuanced policy development in Iraq.