Evaluating Renewable Energy Sites in the Green Hydrogen Supply Chain with Integrated Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis

Green hydrogen can be generated through electrolysis using electricity from renewable sources, such as wind and solar, to split water into hydrogen. This study evaluates the green hydrogen supply chain (GHSC) upstream process using the two-phase integrated multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) framework. In the first phase, the data envelopment analysis (DEA) technique is applied to measure the relative efficiency of provincial alternatives with multiple criteria. The input criteria include provincial area, population density, gross domestic product value, and land cost data. In contrast, the sustainability-based governmental criteria concerning people, prosperity, planet, peace, and partnership indices are used as output criteria. Then, the technique for order of preference by similarity to ideal Solution (TOPSIS) is further applied to evaluate regional districts for Ubonratchathani province, one of the twelve relatively efficient provinces, to obtain the ranking list of potential renewable energy sites in the GHSC. Criteria related to geographic and climate data relevant to the efficiency of solar and wind are, thus, collected and analyzed. Our results show that the top three district areas are Kut Khaopun District, Pho Sai District, and Na Tan District, respectively. Finally, the obtained results are verified to evaluate the robustness of the assessment. Our results offer a strategic and practical analysis for policymakers involved in the energy site appraisal process.