Ranking of energy sources for sustainable electricity generation in Indonesia: A participatory multi-criteria analysis

An evaluation of energy sources for electricity generation should consider manifold aspects of the sustainable development concept. The evaluation also needs active participation from all involved stakeholders. The objective of this paper is to rank energy sources for sustainable electricity generation in Indonesia. A multi-criteria decision analysis using the analytic hierarchy process method was applied to deal with multiple aspects of the sustainable development in the ranking of selected energy sources. Four criteria, twelve sub-criteria and nine energy source alternatives (three fossil fuels and six renewables) were defined. Relevant Indonesian energy stakeholders from government institutions, universities, think tanks, the energy industry, civil society and international organisations participated in this research. They gave judgements on pair-wise comparisons of the criteria and sub-criteria and a performance evaluation of the alternatives against four sub-criteria. The performance of the alternatives against the other eight sub-criteria was evaluated using data from relevant literature. This paper indicates that solar is the top ranked alternative for sustainable electricity generation in Indonesia, followed by hydro and oil as the top three. To fulfil the solar energy potential, the Indonesian government should consider policies that focus on the strengths of solar in the economic and social criteria.