A fuzzy multicriteria methodology for selection among energy alternatives

Since the correct energy policy affects economic development and environment, the most appropriate energy policy selection is excessively important. Recently some studies have concentrated on selecting the best energy policy and determining the best energy alternatives. In most of these studies, multicriteria and fuzzy approaches to energy policy making are frequently used. The fuzzy set theory is a powerful tool to treat the uncertainty in case of incomplete or vague information. In this paper, a fuzzy multicriteria decision-making methodology is suggested for the selection among energy policies. The methodology is based on the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) under fuzziness. It allows the evaluation scores from experts to be linguistic expressions, crisp or fuzzy numbers. In the application of the proposed methodology, the best energy policy is determined for Turkey. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.