A methodological framework to assist in the renewable energy policies of the Central American countries based on the Analytical Network Process (ANP)

Abstract

Renewable energies play an essential role in the Central American Countries, providing responses to face the economic crisis and improving the living conditions of the people, which are being undermined by the effects of the Covid–19. Although the states´ involvement in these processes is reflected through diverse endeavors to enhance renewable energies, their policies need to be readjusted to ensure their effectiveness regarding the current needs. For these reasons, is proposed a methodological framework to assist policymakers, the fundamentals of this tool are based on a Multicriteria Decision Analysis technique, called Analytical Network Process. The innovation of this methodology is that it reveals the best course of action, comparing the countries’ economic, political, social, and environmental elements. The present study evidences its applicability through the cases of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. This novel methodology even addresses their main contextual constraints to guarantee the most realistic diagnoses.