Comprehensive Evaluation of NIMBY Phenomenon with Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process and Radar Chart

Abstract

The risk level of the NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) phenomenon is crucial for the safety and economy of transmission and transformation projects which is rarely studied, especially for site selection and the construction of transmission lines and substations. In order to effectively evaluate the risk level to solve the dilemma caused by the NIMBY phenomenon, an evaluation method for quantifying the level of the NIMBY phenomenon is proposed. In this paper, thirty-one evaluation criteria and a risk model are put forward according to relevant laws and regulations that should be followed in the transmission and transformation project in China, then the scores corresponding to these criteria are obtained by a questionnaire survey. The radar chart method and minimum area method are applied to determine the weights of the element and unit layers. Furthermore, the overall risk level is evaluated by the fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method. In addition, a transmission and transformation project in Xi’an City, China, is used as an example to verify the correction of the risk model and its evaluation method. The results show that the weaknesses in the transmission and transformation project are analyzed, and suggestions for decreasing the risk level are put forward to minimize losses due to the NIMBY phenomenon.