A multi-criteria approach to decision-making on choosing the optimal strategy for implementing the energy-saving potential at Ukrainian dairies

Modern dairies consume a large number of different types of energy per year, which leads to high production costs. Around the world, one of the priority areas for reducing energy consumption is to increase the energy efficiency of energy-consuming equipment, processes and systems. Ukraine is no exception. Thus, the results of more than twenty energy audits of dairies in Ukraine, carried out with the participation of the author of this paper over the last five years, have shown that issues of energy conservation and modernization of the park of technological equipment for dairies are topical and, as far as possible, they are being resolved. At the same time, the dairies have a significant energy saving potential, the implementation of which is slowed down both due to financial constraints and due to the lack of sufficient knowledge among specialists and top management about the existing opportunities for improving energy efficiency and the optimal strategy for their implementation. Therefore, the purpose of this paper was to summarize the most priority energy-saving measures available at the dairies of Ukraine, as well as to propose and justify the mechanism for forming the optimal strategy for improving energy efficiency. The article shows that the decision-making process regarding the selection of the optimal strategy for implementing the energy-saving potential is multidimensional. It consists of evaluating various options for a strategy according to energy, economic, technical and environmental criteria. Therefore, it is advisable to use multi-criteria approach to select the optimal strategy.