Multi-criteria decision-making methods for selecting the best energy storage systems in arid regions

In the era of renewable energy, generating green energy alone is not enough, as that energy is not necessarily always used. Energy losses are a financial and environmental burden. To overcome this issue, energy storage systems were introduced. This paper explores the challenges associated with optimizing energy storage systems for diverse users in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The project utilizes three prominent Multi-Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM) tools: Quality Function Deployment (QFD), Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), and Preference Selection Index (PSI) to select the most efficient stationary renewable energy solution among ten alternatives. The selected energy storage solutions are evaluated versus several important factors and criteria, such as cost, safety, flexibility, and others. The results show that supercapacitors are the best energy storage system for use in the UAE, followed by super-conducting magnetic energy storage (SMES). A sensitivity analysis was performed to assess the impact of changes in the most important criteria on the final ranking. The results show that supercapacitors remain the optimal solution regardless of the significant changes their evaluation undergoes.