Sustainability 2012, 4(4), 604-629; doi:10.3390/su4040604
Transdisciplinary Evaluation of Energy Scenarios for a German Village Using Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis
1
Department of Energy Engineering, Berlin Institute of Technology, D-10623 Berlin, Germany
2
Interdisciplinary Center of Sustainable Development, University of Goettingen, D-37077 Goettingen, Germany
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 6 March 2012 / Revised: 27 March 2012 / Accepted: 28 March 2012 / Published: 11 April 2012
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Changing the Energy System to Renewable Energy Self-Sufficiency (RESS) - Selected Papers from the RESS Conference, 15-16 September 2011, Freiburg, Germany)
Abstract
Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) can assist local decision processes towards selecting renewable energy systems as it is able to manage qualitative data and offers opportunities to integrate knowledge from local stakeholders. However, little experience is available regarding practical applications of MCDA in real decision processes in communities on their path towards a renewable energy supply. Within the “Bioenergy-Region Ludwigsfelde” project, an MCDA evaluation has been applied to a small village on its way to becoming a “bioenergy village”. Here, MCDA has been combined with already established tools accompanying the process to becoming a “bioenergy village”, such as planning workshops, citizens’ meetings and best-practice trips. A comprehensive set of sustainability criteria was applied aimed at addressing the questions of local actors. An emphasis was placed on social criteria that comprise the perceived values of local impacts. In general, it was observed that MCDA provides many benefits for this application context. In particular, the group weighting using the SIMOS method demonstrated good results in the process. However, for real-world applications of MCDA, the challenge of data compilation in particular must be addressed. View Full-TextKeywords:
Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis; PROMETHEE; renewable energy systems; public participation; sustainable development
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Wilkens (nee Braune), I.; Schmuck, P. Transdisciplinary Evaluation of Energy Scenarios for a German Village Using Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis. Sustainability 2012, 4, 604-629.
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