A new spatial assessment study reveals significant opportunities for rooftop solar deployment in urban hotels across Iran's major tourism destinations. Researchers evaluated hotels in Tehran, Mashhad, Isfahan, Shiraz, and Tabriz using a multi-criteria decision-making framework that integrates expert judgment, spatial analysis, and building characteristics to identify optimal locations for urban solar photovoltaic systems.
The hospitality industry consumes substantial energy for heating, cooling, hot water, and lighting, making it a logical target for renewable integration. By deploying solar systems on hotel rooftops, operators can reduce grid demand, lower operating costs, and enhance sustainability credentials—increasingly important for environmentally conscious travelers.
The analysis employed two distinct methodologies. The first evaluated each hotel relative to all other buildings in its city, establishing competitive positioning for solar viability. The second ranked hotels exclusively against competitors within the hospitality sector, enabling direct comparison. Key variables included solar irradiance availability, local population density, rooftop area, structural capacity, and proximity to electrical infrastructure.
Results showed wide variation across cities. Isfahan demonstrated the strongest absolute potential, with 19% of surveyed hotels classified as very high suitability when compared citywide. Tabriz and Mashhad followed with 13.7% and 3.9%, respectively. When evaluating hotels against each other, proportions increased substantially—Isfahan reached 11.5%, while Tabriz matched its absolute score at 13.7%.
The framework addresses a critical gap in sustainable tourism development. Hotels represent concentrated energy demand in urban cores, and rooftop solar requires minimal land disruption compared to ground-mounted installations. The study's methodology is transferable to other nations seeking to accelerate renewable adoption in hospitality infrastructure.
For Iranian tourism authorities, the findings suggest prioritizing solar incentives in high-potential cities. International hotel operators seeking to meet global sustainability targets can use similar spatial analysis tools to benchmark properties and guide capital allocation toward renewable integration.
