Multi-Criteria Applications in Renewable Energy Analysis, a Literature Review

Outline

• Abstract
• 1 Introduction
• 2 Overview of Multi-Criteria Decision-Making Methods
• 3 Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis in Renewable Energy
• 3.1 Renewable Energy Planning and Policy
• 3.2 Renewable Energy Evaluation and Assessment
• 3.3 Project Selection and Allocation
• 3.4 Environmental
• 3.5 Fuzzy Sets
• 3.6 Comparison Between McDm Methods
• 4 Conclusion
• References

Conclusions

In general, evaluating energy systems is a complex analysis that can be defined as a multi-dimensional space of different indicators and objectives. The use of multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA) techniques provides a reliable methodology to rank alternative renewable energy resources, technologies and projects in the presence of different objectives and limitations. Even with the large number of available MCDA methods, none of them is considered the best for all kinds of decision-making situations. Different methods often produce different results even when applied to the same problem using same data. There is no better or worse method but only a technique that fits better in a certain situation. The current research does not give a clear view about the trend in literature, but can give an insight about the direction it is going. It is noticed that AHP is the most used methodology of all MCDM methods. This can be credited to its simple structure and the ability of an analyst to negotiate results until consistency is achieved, offering near consensus on judgment. The main question that remains is how to choose the appropriate MCDA methodology in alternative energy decision-making.