Addressing hidden challenges in urban renewable energy integration via a hybrid-decision model

The integration of renewable energy into urban development has some critical legal challenges. However, the literature lacks a systematic framework for prioritizing the most critical obstacles. Existing studies generally address the legal barriers to the integration of renewable energy into urban areas at a general level. Therefore, these studies do not provide a systematic framework to prioritize which barriers are more critical. This deficiency creates some important problems such as increasing investor distrust, delays in projects and increasing costs. This study tries to fill this gap by establishing a novel hybrid decision-making model to evaluate hidden legal challenges in renewable energy integration. The proposed model follows a structured methodology by integrating z-scoring method to ensure expert representativeness, p,q,r-Fractional fuzzy sets to handle uncertainties, entropy method to compute the weights of the identified legal barriers and grey relational analysis to identify the most effective strategy alternatives. The main contribution is that prior investment strategies can be identified to overcome these legal challenges regarding the integration of renewable energy into urban development by creating a novel model. The use of p,q,r-Fractional fuzzy sets in this model provides an important contribution to the literature. With the help of considering these sets, more complex and multi-dimensional uncertainties can be managed more effectively. The findings highlight the significance of financial incentives and streamlined regulatory processes to have the sustainable transformation of urban areas. First published online 23 September 2025