Selection of Renewable Energy in Rural Area Via Life Cycle Assessment-Analytical Hierarchy Process (LCA-AHP): A Case Study of Tatau, Sarawak

Cyril Anak John, Lian See Tan, Jully Tan, Peck Loo Kiew, Azmi Mohd Shariff and Hairul Nazirah Abdul Halim
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Cyril Anak John: Malaysia-Japan International Institute of Technology, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Jalan Sultan Yahya Petra, Kuala Lumpur 54100, Malaysia
Lian See Tan: Malaysia-Japan International Institute of Technology, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Jalan Sultan Yahya Petra, Kuala Lumpur 54100, Malaysia
Jully Tan: School of Engineering, Monash University Malaysia, Jalan Lagoon Selatan, Bandar Sunwa 47500, Malaysia
Peck Loo Kiew: Malaysia-Japan International Institute of Technology, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Jalan Sultan Yahya Petra, Kuala Lumpur 54100, Malaysia
Azmi Mohd Shariff: Chemical Engineering Department, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Seri Iskandar 32610, Malaysia
Hairul Nazirah Abdul Halim: Faculty of Chemical Engineering Technology, Universiti Malaysia Perlis, Kompleks Pusat Pengajian Jejawi 3, Arau 02600, Malaysia

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 21, 1-18

Abstract: With a growing global population and energy demand, there is increasing concern about the world’s reliance on fossil fuels, which have a negative impact on the climate, necessitating the immediate transition to a cleaner energy resource. This effort can be initiated in the rural areas of developing countries for a sustainable, efficient and affordable energy source. This study evaluated four types of renewable energy (solar, wind, biomass, and mini-hydro energy) using the integrated Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) approaches to select the best renewable energy source in Tatau, Sarawak. The criteria under consideration in this study included the environment, engineering and economics. The LCA was used to assess the environmental impact of renewable energies from gate-to-grave boundaries based on 50 MJ/day of electricity generation. The AHP results showed that solar energy received the highest score of 0.299 in terms of the evaluated criteria, followed by mini-hydro, biomass and wind energy, which received scores of 0.271, 0.230 and 0.200, respectively. These findings can be used to develop a systematic procedure for determining the best form of renewable energy for rural areas. This approach could be vital for the authorities that are responsible for breaking down multi-perspective criteria for future decision making in the transition into renewable energy.

Keywords: renewable energy; life cycle assessment; analytical hierarchy process; multi-perspective criteria (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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