Socio-political evaluation of renewable energy resources under uncertain environment

Abstract

Countries are developing green transition policies to reduce their dependency on conventional resources and to eliminate environmental concerns while meeting increasing energy demand. Renewable energy, thus, has a crucial effect on accomplishing these policies. To ensure a rapid spread of renewable energy and develop resilient renewable energy policies concerning the evaluation of renewable energy resources, socio-political factors should be considered. However, evaluating renewable energy technologies regarding the socio-political aspect is clearly more difficult and uncertain than a study focused only on quantifiable objectives, but it is critical since real projects are affected by such aspects. Multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) techniques are best for addressing such issues with conflicting objectives. In this study, an integrated AHP-TOPSIS method with Pythagorean fuzzy sets (PFSs) was used to create the socio-political index for evaluating renewable energy hybrid technologies and Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESSs) in Turkey. The results showed that while solar energy has the highest socio-political index, Run of River with BESSs alternative ranks as the lowest.