IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/renene/v173y2021icp209-222.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Assessing and overcoming the renewable energy barriers for sustainable development in Pakistan: An integrated AHP and fuzzy TOPSIS approach

Author

Listed:
  • Solangi, Yasir Ahmed
  • Longsheng, Cheng
  • Shah, Syed Ahsan Ali

Abstract

The growing environmental, economic, and social problems have forced governments and policymakers to ensure a sustainable energy future by deploying renewable energy technologies. However, the various barriers impede the development of renewable energy technologies. Therefore, this study identifies the seven-renewable energy barriers and twenty-nine sub-barriers, which obstruct the development of renewable energy technologies in Pakistan. Then, this study proposes various strategies to overcome these renewable energy barriers. First, the Analytical Hierarchy Process method assesses and prioritizes renewable energy barriers and sub-barriers. Then, the Fuzzy Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution method evaluates the strategies for sustainable implementation of renewable energy technologies. The results of the AHP method reveal that “Economic & Financial,” “Political & Policy,” and “Market” are ranked as the most critical barriers in the deployment of renewable energy technologies. Besides, the results of the Fuzzy TOPSIS method indicate that “Capital Subsidies,” “Feed-in Tariffs,” and “Direct, Enabling, & Integrating Policies,” are the most feasible strategies to overcome these barriers for the successful implementation of renewable energy technologies in Pakistan. This study shall assist the governments and policymakers in focusing their future efforts in deploying renewable energy technologies for sustainable energy planning and development.

Suggested Citation

  • Solangi, Yasir Ahmed & Longsheng, Cheng & Shah, Syed Ahsan Ali, 2021. "Assessing and overcoming the renewable energy barriers for sustainable development in Pakistan: An integrated AHP and fuzzy TOPSIS approach," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 173(C), pages 209-222.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:renene:v:173:y:2021:i:c:p:209-222
    DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2021.03.141
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S096014812100505X
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.renene.2021.03.141?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Rawshan Ali & Alban Kuriqi & Shadan Abubaker & Ozgur Kisi, 2019. "Hydrologic Alteration at the Upper and Middle Part of the Yangtze River, China: Towards Sustainable Water Resource Management Under Increasing Water Exploitation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(19), pages 1-16, September.
    2. Janke, Jason R., 2010. "Multicriteria GIS modeling of wind and solar farms in Colorado," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 35(10), pages 2228-2234.
    3. Kuriqi, Alban & Pinheiro, António N. & Sordo-Ward, Alvaro & Garrote, Luis, 2019. "Flow regime aspects in determining environmental flows and maximising energy production at run-of-river hydropower plants," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 256(C).
    4. Wang, Jiang-Jiang & Jing, You-Yin & Zhang, Chun-Fa & Zhao, Jun-Hong, 2009. "Review on multi-criteria decision analysis aid in sustainable energy decision-making," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 13(9), pages 2263-2278, December.
    5. Sheikh, Munawar A., 2009. "Renewable energy resource potential in Pakistan," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 13(9), pages 2696-2702, December.
    6. Bertoldi, Paolo & Huld, Thomas, 2006. "Tradable certificates for renewable electricity and energy savings," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 34(2), pages 212-222, January.
    7. Daim, Tugrul & Yates, Diane & Peng, Yicheng & Jimenez, Bertha, 2009. "Technology assessment for clean energy technologies: The case of the Pacific Northwest," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 31(3), pages 232-243.
    8. Fthenakis, Vasilis & Mason, James E. & Zweibel, Ken, 2009. "The technical, geographical, and economic feasibility for solar energy to supply the energy needs of the US," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(2), pages 387-399, February.
    9. Dong, Yanli & Shimada, Koji, 2017. "Evolution from the renewable portfolio standards to feed-in tariff for the deployment of renewable energy in Japan," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 590-596.
    10. Abdmouleh, Zeineb & Alammari, Rashid A.M. & Gastli, Adel, 2015. "Review of policies encouraging renewable energy integration & best practices," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 249-262.
    11. Hulshof, Daan & Jepma, Catrinus & Mulder, Machiel, 2019. "Performance of markets for European renewable energy certificates," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 128(C), pages 697-710.
    12. Eleftheriadis, Iordanis M. & Anagnostopoulou, Evgenia G., 2015. "Identifying barriers in the diffusion of renewable energy sources," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 153-164.
    13. Ur Rehman, Syed Aziz & Cai, Yanpeng & Mirjat, Nayyar Hussain & Walasai, Gordhan Das & Nafees, Mohammad, 2019. "Energy-environment-economy nexus in Pakistan: Lessons from a PAK-TIMES model," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 126(C), pages 200-211.
    14. Farooqui, Suhail Zaki, 2014. "Prospects of renewables penetration in the energy mix of Pakistan," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 29(C), pages 693-700.
    15. Luthra, Sunil & Kumar, Sanjay & Garg, Dixit & Haleem, Abid, 2015. "Barriers to renewable/sustainable energy technologies adoption: Indian perspective," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 762-776.
    16. Ghimire, Laxman Prasad & Kim, Yeonbae, 2018. "An analysis on barriers to renewable energy development in the context of Nepal using AHP," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 129(PA), pages 446-456.
    17. Sheikh, Munawar A., 2010. "Energy and renewable energy scenario of Pakistan," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 14(1), pages 354-363, January.
    18. Kumar, Abhishek & Sah, Bikash & Singh, Arvind R. & Deng, Yan & He, Xiangning & Kumar, Praveen & Bansal, R.C., 2017. "A review of multi criteria decision making (MCDM) towards sustainable renewable energy development," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 596-609.
    19. Saaty, Thomas L., 1990. "How to make a decision: The analytic hierarchy process," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 48(1), pages 9-26, September.
    20. Dulal, Hari Bansha & Shah, Kalim U. & Sapkota, Chandan & Uma, Gengaiah & Kandel, Bibek R., 2013. "Renewable energy diffusion in Asia: Can it happen without government support?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 301-311.
    21. Nayyar Hussain Mirjat & Mohammad Aslam Uqaili & Khanji Harijan & Mohd Wazir Mustafa & Md. Mizanur Rahman & M. Waris Ali Khan, 2018. "Multi-Criteria Analysis of Electricity Generation Scenarios for Sustainable Energy Planning in Pakistan," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-33, March.
    22. Williams, Nathaniel J. & Jaramillo, Paulina & Taneja, Jay & Ustun, Taha Selim, 2015. "Enabling private sector investment in microgrid-based rural electrification in developing countries: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 1268-1281.
    23. Ghafoor, Abdul & Rehman, Tanzeel ur & Munir, Anjum & Ahmad, Manzoor & Iqbal, Muhammad, 2016. "Current status and overview of renewable energy potential in Pakistan for continuous energy sustainability," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 1332-1342.
    24. Gianluigi Busico & Elisabetta Giuditta & Nerantzis Kazakis & Nicolò Colombani, 2019. "A Hybrid GIS and AHP Approach for Modelling Actual and Future Forest Fire Risk Under Climate Change Accounting Water Resources Attenuation Role," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(24), pages 1-20, December.
    25. Yasir Ahmed Solangi & Qingmei Tan & Muhammad Waris Ali Khan & Nayyar Hussain Mirjat & Ifzal Ahmed, 2018. "The Selection of Wind Power Project Location in the Southeastern Corridor of Pakistan: A Factor Analysis, AHP, and Fuzzy-TOPSIS Application," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(8), pages 1-26, July.
    26. Liu, Jian & Zuo, Jian & Sun, Zhiyu & Zillante, George & Chen, Xianming, 2013. "Sustainability in hydropower development—A case study," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 19(C), pages 230-237.
    27. Sharafat Ali & Haiyan Xu & Abul Quasem Al-amin & Najid Ahmad, 2019. "Energy sources choice and environmental sustainability disputes: an evolutional graph model approach," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 53(2), pages 561-581, March.
    28. Mirza, Umar K. & Ahmad, Nasir & Harijan, Khanji & Majeed, Tariq, 2009. "Identifying and addressing barriers to renewable energy development in Pakistan," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 13(4), pages 927-931, May.
    29. Kumar Singh, Bhupendra, 2013. "South Asia energy security: Challenges and opportunities," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 458-468.
    30. Adhikari, S. & Mithulananthan, N. & Dutta, A. & Mathias, A.J., 2008. "Potential of sustainable energy technologies under CDM in Thailand: Opportunities and barriers," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 33(9), pages 2122-2133.
    31. Valasai, Gordhan Das & Uqaili, Muhammad Aslam & Memon, HafeezUr Rahman & Samoo, Saleem Raza & Mirjat, Nayyar Hussain & Harijan, Khanji, 2017. "Overcoming electricity crisis in Pakistan: A review of sustainable electricity options," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 734-745.
    32. Khan, Hassan A. & Pervaiz, Saad, 2013. "Technological review on solar PV in Pakistan: Scope, practices and recommendations for optimized system design," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 23(C), pages 147-154.
    33. Roszkowska, Ewa & Wachowicz, Tomasz, 2015. "Application of fuzzy TOPSIS to scoring the negotiation offers in ill-structured negotiation problems," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 242(3), pages 920-932.
    34. Syed Ahsan Ali Shah & Gordhan Das Valasai & Asif Ali Memon & Abdul Nasir Laghari & Nabi Bux Jalbani & Jody L. Strait, 2018. "Techno-Economic Analysis of Solar PV Electricity Supply to Rural Areas of Balochistan, Pakistan," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-19, July.
    35. Darmani, Anna & Arvidsson, Niklas & Hidalgo, Antonio & Albors, Jose., 2014. "What drives the development of renewable energy technologies? Toward a typology for the systemic drivers," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 834-847.
    36. Cowan, Kelly & Daim, Tugrul & Anderson, Tim, 2010. "Exploring the impact of technology development and adoption for sustainable hydroelectric power and storage technologies in the Pacific Northwest United States," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 35(12), pages 4771-4779.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Ghimire, Laxman Prasad & Kim, Yeonbae, 2018. "An analysis on barriers to renewable energy development in the context of Nepal using AHP," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 129(PA), pages 446-456.
    2. Ullah, Kafait & Raza, Muhammad Shabbar & Mirza, Faisal Mehmood, 2019. "Barriers to hydro-power resource utilization in Pakistan: A mixed approach," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 723-735.
    3. Yasir Ahmed Solangi & Qingmei Tan & Muhammad Waris Ali Khan & Nayyar Hussain Mirjat & Ifzal Ahmed, 2018. "The Selection of Wind Power Project Location in the Southeastern Corridor of Pakistan: A Factor Analysis, AHP, and Fuzzy-TOPSIS Application," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(8), pages 1-26, July.
    4. Oryani, Bahareh & Koo, Yoonmo & Rezania, Shahabaldin & Shafiee, Afsaneh, 2021. "Barriers to renewable energy technologies penetration: Perspective in Iran," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 174(C), pages 971-983.
    5. Yaqoot, Mohammed & Diwan, Parag & Kandpal, Tara C., 2016. "Review of barriers to the dissemination of decentralized renewable energy systems," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 477-490.
    6. Zulfiqar Ali Baloch & Qingmei Tan & Hafiz Waqas Kamran & Muhammad Atif Nawaz & Gadah Albashar & Javaria Hameed, 2022. "A multi-perspective assessment approach of renewable energy production: policy perspective analysis," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 24(2), pages 2164-2192, February.
    7. Leezna Saleem & Imran Ahmad Siddiqui & Intikhab Ulfat, 2021. "The prioritization of renewable energy technologies in Pakistan: An urgent need," ECONOMICS AND POLICY OF ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2021(1), pages 81-103.
    8. Nayyar Hussain Mirjat & Mohammad Aslam Uqaili & Khanji Harijan & Mohd Wazir Mustafa & Md. Mizanur Rahman & M. Waris Ali Khan, 2018. "Multi-Criteria Analysis of Electricity Generation Scenarios for Sustainable Energy Planning in Pakistan," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-33, March.
    9. Tahir, Z.R. & Asim, Muhammad, 2018. "Surface measured solar radiation data and solar energy resource assessment of Pakistan: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 81(P2), pages 2839-2861.
    10. Jamal, Taskin & Urmee, Tania & Shafiullah, G.M., 2020. "Planning of off-grid power supply systems in remote areas using multi-criteria decision analysis," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 201(C).
    11. Fabiana Silvero & Fernanda Rodrigues & Sergio Montelpare, 2019. "A Parametric Study and Performance Evaluation of Energy Retrofit Solutions for Buildings Located in the Hot-Humid Climate of Paraguay—Sensitivity Analysis," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-27, January.
    12. Bukari, Dramani & Kemausuor, Francis & Quansah, David A. & Adaramola, Muyiwa S., 2021. "Towards accelerating the deployment of decentralised renewable energy mini-grids in Ghana: Review and analysis of barriers," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 135(C).
    13. Muhammad Riaz & Wojciech Sałabun & Hafiz Muhammad Athar Farid & Nawazish Ali & Jarosław Wątróbski, 2020. "A Robust q-Rung Orthopair Fuzzy Information Aggregation Using Einstein Operations with Application to Sustainable Energy Planning Decision Management," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-39, May.
    14. Bahareh Oryani & Yoonmo Koo & Shahabaldin Rezania, 2020. "Structural Vector Autoregressive Approach to Evaluate the Impact of Electricity Generation Mix on Economic Growth and CO 2 Emissions in Iran," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-16, August.
    15. Linmao Ma & Jing Yu & Long Zhang, 2019. "An Analysis on Barriers to Biomass and Bioenergy Development in Rural China Using Intuitionistic Fuzzy Cognitive Map," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-23, April.
    16. Maqbool, Rashid, 2018. "Efficiency and effectiveness of factors affecting renewable energy projects; an empirical perspective," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 158(C), pages 944-956.
    17. Asante, Dennis & He, Zheng & Adjei, Nana Osae & Asante, Bismark, 2020. "Exploring the barriers to renewable energy adoption utilising MULTIMOORA- EDAS method," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 142(C).
    18. Ghouchani, Mahya & Taji, Mohammad & Cheheltani, Atefeh Sadat & Chehr, Mohammad Seifi, 2021. "Developing a perspective on the use of renewable energy in Iran," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 172(C).
    19. Karatayev, Marat & Hall, Stephen & Kalyuzhnova, Yelena & Clarke, Michèle L., 2016. "Renewable energy technology uptake in Kazakhstan: Policy drivers and barriers in a transitional economy," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 120-136.
    20. Solangi, K.H. & Islam, M.R. & Saidur, R. & Rahim, N.A. & Fayaz, H., 2011. "A review on global solar energy policy," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 15(4), pages 2149-2163, May.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:renene:v:173:y:2021:i:c:p:209-222. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/renewable-energy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.