Multi-Criteria Decision-Making for Hybrid Renewable Energy in Small Communities: Key Performance Indicators and Sensitivity Analysis

Helena M. Ramos (), Praful Borkar, Oscar E. Coronado-Hernández, Francisco Javier Sánchez-Romero and Modesto Pérez-Sánchez ()
Additional contact information
Helena M. Ramos: Civil Engineering Research and Innovation for Sustainability (CERIS), Instituto Superior Técnico, Department of Civil Engineering, Architecture and Georesources, University of Lisbon, 1049-001 Lisbon, Portugal
Praful Borkar: Civil Engineering Research and Innovation for Sustainability (CERIS), Instituto Superior Técnico, Department of Civil Engineering, Architecture and Georesources, University of Lisbon, 1049-001 Lisbon, Portugal
Oscar E. Coronado-Hernández: Instituto de Hidráulica y Saneamiento Ambiental, Universidad de Cartagena, Cartagena 130001, Colombia
Francisco Javier Sánchez-Romero: Rural and Agrifood Engineering Department, Universitat Politècnica de València, 46022 Valencia, Spain
Modesto Pérez-Sánchez: Hydraulic Engineering and Environmental Department, Universitat Politècnica de València, 46022 Valencia, Spain

Energies, 2025, vol. 18, issue 21, 1-31

Abstract: The increasing decentralization of energy systems calls for robust frameworks to evaluate the technical and economic feasibility of hybrid renewable configurations at the community scale. This study presents an integrated methodology that combines Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), sensitivity analysis, and Multi-Criteria Decision-Making to assess hybrid systems in Castanheira de Pera, a small community in central Portugal. Fourteen configurations (C1–C14) integrating hydropower, solar PV, wind, and battery storage were simulated using HOMER Pro 3.16.2, PVsyst 8.0.16, Python 3.14.0, and Excel under both wet and dry hydrological conditions. A gate-controlled hydro-buffering model was applied to optimize short-term storage operation, increasing summer energy generation by 52–88% without additional infrastructure. Among all configurations, C8 achieved the highest Net Present Value (≈EUR 153,700) and a strong Internal Rate of Return (IRR), while maintaining a stable Levelized Cost of Electricity (LCOE) of around 0.042 EUR/kWh. Comparative decision scenarios highlight distinct stakeholder priorities: storage-intensive systems (C14, C11) maximize energy security, whereas medium-scale hybrids (C8, C7) offer superior economic performance. Overall, the results confirm that hybridization significantly improves community energy autonomy and resilience. Future work should extend this framework to include environmental and social indicators, enabling a more comprehensive techno-socio-economic assessment of hybrid renewable systems.

Keywords: multi-criteria decision-making; small communities; hybrid renewable energy; KPI (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/21/5665/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/21/5665/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jeners:v:18:y:2025:i:21:p:5665-:d:1781832

Access Statistics for this article

Energies is currently edited by Ms. Cassie Shen

More articles in Energies from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().