Evaluating barriers and pathways to implement renewable energy technologies in rural India: an application of Pythagorean fuzzy AHP


Pandey V., Komal K., DİNÇER H.

OPSEARCH, cilt.63, sa.2, ss.818-861, 2026 (ESCI, Scopus)

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 63 Sayı: 2
  • Basım Tarihi: 2026
  • Doi Numarası: 10.1007/s12597-025-00942-w
  • Dergi Adı: OPSEARCH
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI), Scopus, ABI/INFORM, INSPEC, MathSciNet, zbMATH, Materials Science & Engineering Collection (ProQuest), Technology Collection (ProQuest)
  • Sayfa Sayıları: ss.818-861
  • Anahtar Kelimeler: Barriers, Fuzzy AHP, Interval-valued Pythagorean fuzzy set (IVPyFS), Pathways, Policy making, Renewable energy (RE)
  • İstanbul Medipol Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

In response to the increasing environmental, economic, and social concerns, governments and policymakers are forced to implement renewable energy technologies (RETs). However, a variety of barriers restrict the development of renewable energy (RE). As per the significance of barriers, the study offers a systematic framework for ranking them in order of their priority within the rural Indian context. This study consists of two phases. In the first phase, a literature survey was used to identify the barriers. Thirty-one critical barriers were identified, which were categorised into seven broad categories: social, economic, political and policy, technological, institutional, market, and geographical barriers. In the second phase, the weights and ranking order of each barrier and sub-barrier were determined using the interval-valued Pythagorean fuzzy-AHP (IVPyF-AHP) method. The results show that the economic barrier ranks highest among the seven main barriers, whereas high capital costs is the top-most sub-barrier among all the thirty-one sub-barriers. A comparative and sensitivity analysis is conducted to demonstrate the robustness of the ranking order of all the prioritised barriers. Finally, to remove these barriers, a number of suggestions (pathways) are offered. This study can serve as a guide for governments, policymakers, stakeholders, utilities, and researchers interested in implementing RETs in India and around the world.