Exploring the barriers to renewable energy adoption utilising MULTIMOORA- EDAS method

Abstract

Renewable energy sources development has become popular in recent times for their energy security, employment creation and containment of greenhouse gases emissions. However, the development of renewable energy in developing countries has remained stagnant despite plenteous renewable energy sources due to existential barriers. Herein, using Ghana's renewable energy policy target of 10% other renewables besides hydroelectricity in her total energy mix by 2020 as a case analysis, this study identified and ranked the barriers to renewable energy development. Overall, twenty-three barriers were finalised and categorised under six broad headings, including technical, economic and financial, social, political and regulatory, institutional, and geographical. Subsequently, the proposed Multi-Objective Optimisation based on Ratio Analysis (MULTIMOORA) integrated with the Evaluation based on Distance from Average Solution (EDAS) method was applied to rank barriers and sub-barriers. The political and regulatory barriers ranked highest among the six categories, while corruption and nepotism emerged as the most critical hurdle within the sub-barriers. The findings suggest that specific renewable energy standards, grid connection quotas and simplification of certification procedures are required. A bottom-up approach to renewable energy policy formulation is preferable for inclusiveness and sustainability. Moreover, the paper has developed a framework for the assessment of how each barrier impedes renewable energy development.