Evaluating smart grid investment drivers and creating effective policies via a fuzzy multi-criteria approach

It is critical to determine which factors impact more smart grid investments and which smart grid investment policy is more suitable for renewable energy projects. Nonetheless, a limited amount of research has focused on this topic, meaning a new study is needed to fill this gap and aid in making decisions under ambiguities. Thus, this research proposes a novel fuzzy group decision-making framework. Twelve drivers are examined through the fuzzy weighted decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (F–DEMATEL–W) methodology. Subsequently, four smart grid investment policies are ranked using fuzzy weighted aggregated sum product assessment (F–WASPAS). Hence, one of the novelties of this research is the proposal of a robust decision-making tool named F–DEMATEL–W–WASPAS. Other novelties are: (i) the importance of the indicators/criteria is methodically determined by considering pairwise interactions and weights of experts; (ii) both individualistic expert-driven weight vector and cumulative weight vector of indicators are determined; (iii) alternative policies are ranked with minimum decision parameters; (iv) drivers that are crucial for the effectiveness of smart grid investment are determined with their causal relationship, and (v) smart grid investment policies are ranked reliably. The findings demonstrate that cyber security, sufficient legal procedures, and financial viability are the foremost drivers to increase the effectiveness of smart grid investments. Moreover, encouraging sustainable energy production using financial incentives is the foremost policy, followed by exchanging surplus electricity for the system owners. The work may contribute to the ongoing discussion on designing smart grid investment policies for renewable energy projects.