Evaluation of rural communities for the planning of renewable energy projects: a SWOT-AHP methodological framework

Abstract

Historically, we know that renewable energies have been a key element for the development of rural communities and have addressed social problems. If we talk about the implementation of renewable energies with the objective of solving social problems, these technologies will be understood as the means of intervention to improve a social, economic or environmental good of a region. The use of methodologies in project management has the benefit of organizing and providing tools to reduce the risks of projects to be implemented in a region. The purpose of this article is to test the suitability of an innovative methodological framework that integrates multicriteria for decision-making and analysis tools (SWOT-AHP). SWOT allows planners to gather relevant knowledge from local stakeholders (Uhunamure & Shale, 2021), while the AHP-Hierarchical Analytical Process allows the prioritization of alternatives. This in order to prioritize the needs to be met in the community, promotes social acceptance of the technology and contributes to the development of rural areas.