Evaluation of Renewable Energy Sources for a Sustainable Future: A Multi-Criteria Decision-Making Approach

Abstract

The urgent global challenges of climate change, energy security, and environmental degradation highlight the need for sustainable energy solutions. Renewable energy sources (RES) present a viable pathway towards sustainability by mitigating greenhouse gas emissions, reducing reliance on fossil fuels, and fostering economic resilience. Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to propose an advanced Multi-Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM) approach to evaluate various RES by integrating environmental, economic, technological, social acceptance, and resource availability criteria, to identify the most suitable RES for sustainable energy solutions. Methodology: The study employs a hybrid method combining Type-2 Neutrosophic Numbers (T2NN) with LOPCOW (Logarithmic Percentage Change Operator Weighting) and MAIRCA (Multi-Attributive Ideal-Real Comparative Assessment) to rank the suitability of different RES, including solar, wind, hydropower, and geothermal energy. Findings: The case study results reveal wind energy as the top-ranked alternative, supported by consistent findings across comparative methods such as COPRAS, MABAC, EDAS, and TOPSIS. Sensitivity analysis further confirms the stability of the proposed model under various scenarios. Originality: The originality of this study lies in the integration of T2NN, LOPCOW, and MAIRCA to address the limitations of traditional MCDM approaches in handling uncertainty and imprecision in data. The study demonstrates the efficacy of the proposed framework in providing a robust evaluation of RES, and its value lies in its potential to inform decision-making in the field of sustainable energy solutions.