Assessment of Renewable Energy Projects Using a Decision Support System: A Process to Endorse the Social License to Operate

The renewable energy projects involve multiple stakeholders; the social acceptance of these projects may convert into a thoughtful risk for the exploitation of renewable energy. Comprehending the process under which a social license to operate may be granted to a renewable energy project is significant. The “GO” or “NO-GO” decision for a renewable energy project is a vital task. In order to illustrate how renewable energy projects can be assessed from the sustainability point of view, two hypothetical scenarios were constructed. These scenarios describe a conceptual renewable energy project evaluated by five imaginary stakeholders under specific criteria and sustainability pillars. The first scenario is a “NO-GO” scenario: the project is not sustainable due to significant environmental, social, economic, technological and geopolitical negative impacts. In this case, the social license to operate will not be endorsed by the stakeholders; important changes are needed before reassessment. The second scenario is a “GO” scenario: the preferences of the stakeholders are such that the project may be considered sustainable and the social license to operate may be endorsed by the stakeholders. The methodology utilized to assess the two hypothetical scenarios for the same renewable energy project is the multi-criteria decision analysis combined with the multi-attribute utility theory. The quantification of assessment results was conducted with the assistance of a state-of-the-art decision support system (“Acropolis DSS”), which allows decision-makers to evaluate multiple options that offer alternate solutions in “GO-NO-GO” situations.