Hybrid Renewable Energy Resources Selection Based on Multi Criteria Decision Methods for Optimal Performance

Abstract

This paper used different Muti-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) techniques to select the best alternative renewable energy sources in Msallata city, southeast of Tripoli, Libya. The selection was based on the commitment from the ministry of Energy in the Libyan government to lower their carbon footprint. The renewable energy sources considered here are solar, wind, and biomass. MCDA is widely used to solve various decision problems based on alternative evaluation. MCDA methods are currently applied in every field and can define any problem, alternatives, and criteria. However, every MCDA technique can give different results. In this paper, four MCDA methods have been tested and evaluated based on the renewable energy sector to find the best alternative. The results suggest that a combination of wind and solar is the most important energy source; solar plants alone are the second most important energy source. The least important energy source in this model is biomass alone. This work is validated using HOMER Pro Software. Many MCDA techniques are applied these days in almost all disciplines, but they may have different results. This work proved that the best MCDA for dealing with renewables for the proposed selection is either The COmplex PRoportional ASsessment (COPRAS) or VIseKriterijumska Optimizacija I Kompromisno Resenje (VIKOR). COPRAS is a MCDA technique that is developed by Zavadskas, Kaklauskas, and Sarka in 1994, it is applied to maximize and minimize index values. VIKOR is an abbreviation of a Serbian term that means Multicriteria Optimization and Compromise Solution, it ranks and selects from various alternatives with conflicting criteria.

Keywords

• Alternative renewable energy sources
• COPRAS
• MCDA
• TOPSIS
• fuzzy TOPSIS
• VIKOR