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Multicriteria Decision Analysis in Planning Sustainable Energy Use

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Energy Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (28 February 2023) | Viewed by 7351

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Engineering Construction and Project Management, School of Civil Engineering, University of Granada, Granada, Spain
Interests: renewable energies; energy sustainability; climate change; urban planning
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, University of the Basque Country, Victoria-Gasteiz, Spain
Interests: renewable energies; energy sustainability; climate change; urban planning

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Sustainable energy consumption is consumption that meets environmental and social sustainability criteria, i.e. consumption that allows the well-being of current generations without detracting from the future of future generations.

Never before have natural resources been exploited as intensively and extensively as they are today. The realisation of this historical phenomenon has given rise to fears about the depletion of natural resources, and the scientific world has warned about some of the consequences of human actions on the environment, many of which are directly related to the excessive energy consumption of our modern society.

The only way to have a secure energy future is to find an environmentally sustainable way to produce and use energy. When talking about energy in the context of sustainable development, the social dimension is introduced. Energy production and use must not only be compatible with society's environmental priorities, but must also be organised in a way that supports the social consensus that binds them together.

While most studies were based solely on cost minimisation, it was not until the 1980s that there was a greater awareness of environmental issues and a need to incorporate environmental considerations into energy planning. This led to a wider use of MCDA. Subsequently, the inclusion of other criteria in the studies, such as reliability, land use, aesthetics and human health issues, has become commonplace.

All this results in the fact that energy planning problems are complex with multiple decision-makers and multiple criteria, as it is subject to many sources of uncertainty, long lead times and capital-intensive investments. Therefore, these problems are well suited for the use of MCDA.

This special issue aims to provide an overview of MCDA methods that have been proposed over the years. It presents an overview of how the various methods have been applied and are applied for sustainable energy use planning. It is intended to present an assessment of the main advantages of the different methods, as well as the difficulties they may be subject to.

Prof. Dr. Eulalia Jadraque Gago
Prof. Dr. Saioa Etxebarria Berrizbeitia
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • multicriteria decision analysis
  • energy planning
  • sustainable energy consumption
  • environmentally sustainable

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

20 pages, 4082 KiB  
Article
Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Process for Strategic Decision Making in Electric Vehicle Adoption
by Pasura Aungkulanon, Walailak Atthirawong and Pongchanun Luangpaiboon
Sustainability 2023, 15(8), 7003; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15087003 - 21 Apr 2023
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2213
Abstract
In response to the requirement to address the global climate crisis in urban areas caused by the logistics sector, an increasing number of governments around the world have begun aggressive strategic actions to encourage manufacturers and consumers to adopt electric vehicle (EV) technology. [...] Read more.
In response to the requirement to address the global climate crisis in urban areas caused by the logistics sector, an increasing number of governments around the world have begun aggressive strategic actions to encourage manufacturers and consumers to adopt electric vehicle (EV) technology. One of the most beneficial aspects of driving an EV is that it reduces pollution while also reducing the use of fossil fuels, as well as improving public health by improving local air quality. Nevertheless, the level of EV adoption differs significantly across markets and geographies. EV adoption barriers slow the overall rate of electric mobility. This study ranks a list of obstacles and sub-hindrances to the adoption of electric vehicles in Thailand using the Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Process (FAHP), a Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) technique. The results showed that infrastructure policy barrier (A), which had the highest weight of 0.6058, was the biggest barrier to EV adoption, followed by technological barrier (B) with a weight of 0.2657, and then by market barrier with a weight of 0.1285. Insufficient charging infrastructure network (A3), lack of proper government support/incentives and collaboration (A1), insufficient electric power supply (A2), high capital cost (C3), and EV charging time (B3) were key sub-barriers to EV adoption in Thailand. Decision Making Systems (DMS) have additionally been created to assist executives in making decisions about the aforementioned barriers. The DMS is based on the concept of computer-aided decision making in that it allows for direct user interaction, analysis, and the ability to change circumstances and the decision-making process based on the executives’ own experience and abilities. Thus, the findings of this study aid in the formulation of market strategies for relevant stakeholders and shed light on potential policy responses. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Multicriteria Decision Analysis in Planning Sustainable Energy Use)
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14 pages, 2096 KiB  
Article
Multicriteria Decision Making and Its Application in Geothermal Power Project
by Thai Hoang Tuyet Nhi, Chia-Nan Wang and Nguyen Van Thanh
Sustainability 2022, 14(23), 16016; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142316016 - 30 Nov 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1838
Abstract
The International Energy Agency (IEA) assesses Vietnam as the second largest electricity user in Southeast Asia. The energy consumption growth rate in the region is one of the fastest in the world, with demand growing at a steady 6% per year for the [...] Read more.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) assesses Vietnam as the second largest electricity user in Southeast Asia. The energy consumption growth rate in the region is one of the fastest in the world, with demand growing at a steady 6% per year for the past 20 years. Within the context that domestic fossil fuel production cannot keep up with demand and climate change is occurring, to avoid depending on imported energy to operate the power system, the Government of Vietnam has turned to developing renewable energy. The potential for developing geothermal energy in Vietnam is promising with more than 200 sources of water around 40 to 100 °C, which is sufficient for the development of geothermal energy projects. Today, a method to conserve natural resources and invest in renewable energy is provided by the government by controlling the importation of gas and coal while investing in building geothermal power plants. One of the hardest problems, however, is determining a suitable place to construct a geothermal power plant (GPP). For this main reason, in the hope of solving this problem, the author has proposed a decision-making model that utilizes a fuzzy set under multi-criteria conditions. It uses two methods, Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (FAHP) followed by Weighted Aggregated Sum Product Assessment (WASPAS), for a GPP site selection decision. The FAHP model is first used to determine the weights of each criterion and sub-criterion. Then, the ranking of each alternative is calculated by the WASPAS model. A final alternative is determined to be the best solution based on calculations from the methods above for identifying suitable locations for a GPP. This research has contributed a method of using a fuzzy multi-criteria decision-making model for determining a suitable location selection. This contribution also shows a development of flexibility towards decision making for other renewable energy projects worldwide. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Multicriteria Decision Analysis in Planning Sustainable Energy Use)
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13 pages, 3006 KiB  
Article
Optimal Waste-to-Energy Strategy Assisted by Fuzzy MCDM Model for Sustainable Solid Waste Management
by Nguyen Van Thanh
Sustainability 2022, 14(11), 6565; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14116565 - 27 May 2022
Cited by 20 | Viewed by 2479
Abstract
In Vietnam, rapid population and economic growth are responsible for the recent increase in solid waste. Energy production from waste is now becoming an effective solution around the world, especially in Vietnam, to solve environmental challenges while contributing to the country’s sustainable energy [...] Read more.
In Vietnam, rapid population and economic growth are responsible for the recent increase in solid waste. Energy production from waste is now becoming an effective solution around the world, especially in Vietnam, to solve environmental challenges while contributing to the country’s sustainable energy production. Waste-to-energy production has become a solution to the municipal solid waste problem, which is projected to increase by 10–16%. In this study, the author proposed a fuzzy MCDM model to assess and select a solid-waste-to-energy plant location in Vietnam. In the first stage, the fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (FAHP) technique is utilized to analyze the relative weight of the primary and secondary evaluation elements, and a combined compromise solution (CoCoSo) model is used to rank the candidates in the final stage. This is the first solid-waste-to-energy plant location evaluation and selection model used in a renewable energy project in Vietnam based on expert interviews and a literature review. This study’s contribution can be a significant guide in analyzing and selecting appropriate locations for solid-waste-to-energy projects, as well as for decision makers and investors in other renewable energy projects in Vietnam and throughout the world. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Multicriteria Decision Analysis in Planning Sustainable Energy Use)
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