Comparative analysis of multi-attribute decision making methods for the evaluation of renewable energy options

Multi-attribute decision making (MADM) methods provide a structured approach for decision making considering various criteria and subjective preferences. A range of MADM methods have been applied in the context of renewable energy. The main benefits of MADM methods are their ability to include stakeholder's interests and increase participation, to account for a broader set of sustainability criteria that go beyond cost-efficiency including environment, social, technical and economic criteria, and provide opportunities to increase energy technology acceptance. This contribution provides an overview of the most applied MADM methods in renewable energy system analysis. It offers a summary of the calculation basics, suggests a novel classification scheme of MADM methods based on their mathematical foundation, and reviews applications related to renewable energy topics. Finally, future research directions in this field are identified.