Selection of renewable energy sources using fuzzy ahp

The importance of renewable energy is increasing both with the insufficiency of traditional energy resources and environmental consciousness. In addition, potential of the renewable energy sources in Turkey is very large, and utilizing the potential is an inevitable alternative for increasing its self-sufficiency with an environmentally friendly way. Also, The Republic of Turkey plans to supply 30% of its energy demand from renewable energy alternatives in 2023. Therefore, evaluation of renewable energy alternatives and determination of the most suitable renewable energy alternative are important issues to make a reasonable energy investment plan. In this thesis, a modified fuzzy AHP methodology is applied for the case of Turkey to rank renewable energy sources by taking suitability and effectiveness into consideration. Biomass energy, geothermal energy, solar energy, wind energy, and hydropower energy are investigated as renewable energy alternatives. Four main criteria (social, technical, environmental, and economic) and eight sub-criteria are taken into consideration. Later, the results are presented and discussed. Solar energy is found as the most suitable renewable energy alternative for Turkey, followed by wind energy, geothermal energy, hydropower energy and biomass energy.