Evaluating renewable energy sources for implementing the hydrogen economy in Pakistan: a two-stage fuzzy MCDM approach

Hydrogen can play a crucial role in increasing energy security and reducing greenhouse gases in Pakistan. Hydrogen can only be a clean and sustainable fuel if it is generated from renewable energy sources (RES). Thus, it is important to evaluate viability of RES for hydrogen production. This study developed a two-stage fuzzy MCDM (Multi-criteria decision-making) approach to select the most efficient RES. In the first stage, fuzzy analytical hierarchy process (AHP) obtained the relative weights of four criteria for the selection of best RES. These criteria included commercial potential, environmental impacts, economic benefits, and social acceptance. In the second stage, data envelopment analysis (DEA) measured the relative efficiency of RES using weights of criteria as outputs, and the cost of RES-based electricity generation as input. The results indicated that wind and solar are the most efficient sources of hydrogen production in Pakistan. Municipal solid waste (MSW) and biomass can also be considered a feedstock for the hydrogen economy. Geothermal reported to be the less efficient source and thus is not recommended at present. Sensitivity analysis confirmed the robustness of results obtained using the developed framework.