Sustainable and renewable implementation multi-criteria energy model (SRIME)—case study: Sri Lanka

Abstract

Sustainable and renewable are certainly very appreciated terms nowadays. These words may summarize a whole new attitude towards our world and the people who live in it. This paper’s goal is to define an original multicriteria energy model, named SRIME, specially designed for developing countries. First, an extensive research will be carried out on: energy demand; potential renewable energy, its current know-how and potential future development; potential avoided emissions (CO2, NOX, SO2); and the possible international support versus the in-country possibilities. The precedence constraints will be applied to establish in which degree renewable energy may be substituting for the fossil fuel: the purely economic approach will give way to a sustainable, renewable, development focused energy planning. It must be noted that an innovative function has been specifically included in the SRIME, which evaluates, applying the precedence constraints, the influence renewable energy may have on developing countries rural health and education. Six functions have been established: replaceable amount of fossil energy; CO2, NOX and SO2 avoidable emissions; rural health and education development maximization; and the cost function. These functions will be optimized through the Chebyshev distance (L?) compromise programming minimization, so that the Pareto optimal solution may be obtained.