Analysis of renewable energy investments in China's BRI middle corridor using spherical fuzzy decision-making framework

The importance of investment in, and access to, renewable energy is widely recognised as a key factor in achieving countries' sustainable development and economic growth goals. In order to advance sustainable development, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) project, proposed by China, represents a significant research area of investigation for countries aiming to attract investments in renewable energy sources (RES). The aim of this study is to provide an analytical evaluation methodology for investment risk factors for renewable energy (RE) in BRI middle corridor countries bordering the Black Sea. The methodology is based on multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) approaches, including the spherical fuzzy analytical hierarchy process (SF-AHP) and the alternative ranking technique based on adaptive standardized intervals (ARTASI). While the SF-AHP is employed to prioritize main and sub-criteria in an environment of uncertainty, the ARTASI is utilized to rank the RE investment profiles of countries by integrating the calculated criteria. The results demonstrated that “Environmental” emerged as the most significant criterion, accounting for 21.61 % of the total importance, followed by “Economic” (21.26 %), “Political” (17.09 %), “Technical” (15.22 %), “Chinese factors” (14.63 %), and “Social” (10.19 %), respectively. The findings indicate that Türkiye and Romania, two of the BRI mid-corridor Black Sea coastal countries, are the most suitable options for Chinese enterprises investing overseas in terms of renewable energy investments. In light of these findings, it can be posited that Chinese enterprises will be better placed to manage and execute BRI renewable energy investment projects in a more effective manner, thereby reducing potential risks and enhancing the potential for investment benefits.