A hybrid model for prioritizing the construction of renewable power plants with sustainable development considerations

Background and Objectives: Renewable energies have a direct role in the three main dimensions of sustainability: economic, social, and environmental. In recent years, the growing energy demand, depletion of fossil fuel resources, and environmental hazards have drawn global attention to renewable energies. The construction of renewable power plants plays a significant role in national energy policy. However, due to the high investment costs of renewable power plants, selecting the appropriate type of plant is crucial. Therefore, this study proposes a hybrid approach combining Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), Enhanced Digital Logic, Fuzzy TOPSIS, Fuzzy VIKOR, and Copeland methods to prioritize the construction of renewable power plants in Iran, considering multiple dimensions including technical, economic, social, political, and environmental sustainability aspects.
Materials and Methods: First, several types of renewable power plants with potential for deployment in Iran were identified. Then, criteria for evaluating and prioritizing their construction were established, considering various dimensions of sustainable development. The weights of the criteria were determined using AHP and MDL methods. Subsequently, scores for each power plant under each criterion were calculated. Finally, Fuzzy TOPSIS and Fuzzy VIKOR methods were applied to rank the priority of renewable power plant construction in Iran. The results of different methods were integrated using the Copeland method
Results: Six renewable power plants were identified as alternatives and 25 criteria were considered for their evaluation. The results indicated that, in order of importance, the main criteria were economic, environmental, technical, political, and social factors. Furthermore, the final results revealed that the priority for establishing renewable power plants in Iran is as follows: solar, hydro, wind, wave and tidal, geothermal, and biomass power plants.
This research, by introducing 25 evaluation criteria for the development of renewable power plants—categorized into five main dimensions (economic, environmental, technical, political, and social)—helps policymakers, managers, and investors in the renewable energy sector to gain a comprehensive perspective and make more effective decisions regarding the allocation of limited resources for the construction of higher-priority power plants.
Conclusion: This study applied a hybrid approach combining AHP, MDL, Fuzzy TOPSIS, Fuzzy VIKOR, and Copeland methods to prioritize the construction of renewable power plants in Iran, considering multiple dimensions of sustainable development. The results indicate that solar power plants hold the highest priority, followed by hydro, wind, wave and tidal, geothermal, and biomass plants. These findings provide valuable insights for policymakers and investors, guiding strategic planning and resource allocation for sustainable energy development in Iran.