Multi-criteria Assessment of the Sustainable Share of Renewable Energy Sources in European Countries Using the SSP-TOPSIS Method

The dynamic development of decision support systems is resulting in the emergence of new decision support tools. Additional attributes of these instruments making available broader analytical capabilities require more complex algorithms of applied methods than popular and simple compensation methods derived from American school. Adaptations based on existing methods can provide new analytical capabilities while maintaining the simplicity of a known algorithm. This paper presents a newly developed Strong Sustainability Paradigm Based Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (SSP-TOPSIS) method incorporating criteria compensation reduction modeling. The proposed method is based on the well-known Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) algorithm, and the innovative criterion compensation reduction step makes the technique suitable for assessments that require consideration of the strong sustainability paradigm. The developed method was applied to the practical case of multi-criteria evaluation of the sustainable use of renewable energy sources in the economies of selected European countries. Attributes of the SHARES (Short assessment of renewable energy sources) model proposed in Eurostat (the statistical office of the European Union) covering energy generation from renewable energy sources (RES) and its consumption in various branches of the economy were used as criteria for the research framework. The research was performed for multiple cases considering criteria compensation reduction modeling. The results identified Sweden as the most balanced country regarding RES exploitation. Other countries that scored well were Austria, Germany, and the Netherlands.