SWOT analysis: A framework for comprehensive evaluation of drivers and barriers for renewable energy development in significant countries

Energy has been the cornerstone for all the technological advancements that are happening in the world. The need for energy at present is great than ever before and it is foreseen to rise in the future, as a result, it triggered us to look into zero-emission alternatives i.e. renewables to meet our energy demand. Energy demand surge is not the only cause, rising fossil fuel prices and global warming are among the major factor for such a verdict. Governments of nearly all the nation are taking the necessary measures that will result in a greater good. Carbon neutralization is a feat that every nation must attain to ensure sustainable global development, renewables prove to be the best tool to achieve it. The scope of the study is to analyse both the drivers and de-motivators for renewable energy development for the study nations including India, China, Iceland, Sweden, and the US are taken into account, each country has its unique strongholds in renewable energy genesis. This work will give a descriptive overview of the country's renewable assets and its green future by means of a SWOT analysis where each country will be assessed based on the four parameters namely Strength, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats for renewable resources. This study has been carried out to access each country potential for renewable energy generation. The motive for selecting these countries is that, these countries show promising outcomes to the leap towards green energy generation and utilization. Their positive results are due to various factors that will be analysed in this work. Additionally an arithmetic based approach was formulated to identify which of the countries will be able to attain Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG 7). (C) 2020 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.