Assessing and prioritizing biogas barriers to alleviate energy poverty in Pakistan: an integrated AHP and G-TOPSIS model

Biogas is a promising renewable technology to alleviate energy poverty. Pakistan has a capacity of 5 million bio digesters that can be installed in different farming areas. However, this target has never been achieved because many barriers hamper the biogas industry development. In previous studies, some researchers have indicated these barriers in different geographical contexts: however, these barriers are rarely examined in Pakistan. To fulfill the research gap, this study prioritizes potential barriers. Using a literature review and a modified Delphi technique, we identify 25 sub-barriers and catalog them into 5 main categories. The analytical hierarchy process (AHP) prioritizes the main barriers and sub-barriers based on potential. Grey Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (G-TOPSIS) ranks the practical alternatives to combat these barriers. The study findings specify that the "financial barrier" is the top-ranked barrier among the main categories, followed by technical, socio-cultural, institutional and administrative, and environmental barriers. The overall ranking shows that the "high starting price tag" is ranked first among all sub-barriers in all categories. It has been proposed that "appropriate financial incentives" and "promotion of customized technology" would be feasible alternative solutions to combat the issues. Based on the research findings, some policy recommendations were suggested for biogas uptake in Pakistan. This study may assist policymakers, stakeholders, and government institutions in accelerating the potential of biogas energy to alleviate energy poverty in rural areas of Pakistan.