Investment decision making in renewable energy investments

Energy sector plays an important role in today's world due to the economic, social and political effects of it. By the increase of the world population and gross domestic product, energy consumption of the world has increased significantly. Although, conventional fossil fuelled power plants are still dominating the energy generation of the world, there is a considerable increase in the renewable energy investments. Main objective of this study is to identify and prioritize the critical criteria that shape the renewable energy investment decision making process. In the scope of this study, firstly development of the energy sector is summarized. Afterwards, main criteria which affect the investment decisions of the investors on renewable energy are given based on an extensive literature survey and investigation of sector practice. Those criteria are categorized under three main groups as technical, economic, and environmental and social. Then, with the support of experienced expert team, interrelations and relative importance rates of them are calculated. Finally, by using the Super Decisions software and applying analytic network process method, importance weights of all criteria on investment decisions of renewable energy are calculated. Based on the findings of this research, economic criteria such as policies and regulations, availability of funds and investment cost are found to be the most significant factors in the decision process of renewable energy investments. Moreover, reliability of the suggested model is tested and found to be sufficient. Consequently, in order to develop successful renewable energy investments, investors should assess the competencies of their investments regarding those three factors. Additionally, governments should shape their policies and incentives in line with the needs of renewable energy investments in order to increase the usage of renewable energy.