Metaheuristics and multi-criteria decision-making for renewable energy systems: Review, progress, bibliometric analysis, and contribution to the sustainable development pillars

Achieving sustainable development goals requires integrating renewable energy systems (RESs) into our current energy infrastructure. However, sophisticated approaches are needed due to the complexity of decision-making. In the context of RESs, this study provides a thorough evaluation, progress report, bibliometric analysis, and assessment of metaheuristic algorithms and multi-criteria decision-making methodologies. Through an extensive review of academic literature, this study highlights the potential of metaheuristics to improve sustainable development decision-making processes by emphasizing important trends and developments. The study also examines how these approaches promote efficient resource allocation, reduce environmental impacts, and increase societal benefits to address the economic, social, and environmental pillars of sustainable development. The summary of results highlights the important roles that metaheuristics and multi-criteria decision-making play in effectively integrating and administrating RESs.