Sustainability Analysis of Different Types of Power Plants Using Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis Methods

Abstract

Power requirements are growing day by day, and more power plants are being constructed all over the world. Now the goal has been to look for more sustainable sources of electricity. Sustainability of power plants is a complicated concept and depends on various criteria and sub-criteria. By evaluating them separately creates a complex problem. For this here Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) methods are used for overall assessment and make a sustainability index for seven mostly used power plants. Consideration is taken to both renewable and non-renewable sources. The goal is divided into three basic criteria (i.e. technology, safety & sustainability, economy) and each criterion is further sub-divided into different sub-criteria. The data is collected from various sources and then analyzed using AHP and PROMETHEE methods. The result indicate renewable sources are typically advantageous over non-renewable sources. In certain cases, nuclear has some benefits over other non-renewable energy sources.