The determinants of renewable energy sources for the fueling of green and sustainable economy

Abstract

This study seeks to evaluate potential solutions to Pakistan's energy shortages based on a renewable green hydrogen source provided by geothermal, wind, biomass, and solar energy. To this end, the application of multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) and the Fuzzy-analytical hierarchical process was tested on four primary criteria: social acceptance, economic, commercialization, and environmental. The Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) is used to analyze the development of hydrogen energy using existing renewable sources under the set parameters. Based on results from the fuzzy-led DEA study, the efficiency of wind energy sources is best adapted to produce hydrogen energy for all four criteria in Pakistan. The DEA-led analysis also deems wind energy to be Pakistan's effective source of hydrogen energy. In other words, to produce hydrogen energy, the findings revealed the best optimal rank 1.00 for wind energy, second highest score 0.97 for biomass, third rank for solar energy with a score of 0.75, and geothermal ranked at last position with a score of 0.662. The findings emphasize that the development of wind energy projects will help to fulfill local energy requirements and minimize fossil energy usage. This study can assist policymakers design fact-based initiatives in their particular regions of hydrogen energy.