Renewable energy source selection using analytical hierarchy process and quality function deployment: A case study

Selection of renewable energy sources is an important strategic decision making problem for both private and public sectors. In general varied factors affect the appropriate source selection problem which adheres to uncertain and imprecise data. In this paper the integrated Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) — Quality Function Deployment (QFD) model is used to determine the most viable renewable energy source for the state of Maharashtra. The QFD method has been used to determine the most preferred energy source from the customer's point of view considering the technical factors. Six technical factors have been considered for the case study in ranking the sources of renewable energy. The purpose of using the AHP criteria was to have a holistic selection procedure to aid in the justification of selection of renewable energy source. The proposed integrated approach provides more truthful and steadfast results, and facilitates the decision maker to manage multiple opposing decision perspectives through eliminating the limitations of AHP and QFD method.