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This paper examines the connection between renewable energy and Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) through an extensive bibliometric mapping and trend analysis covering 2014–2024. Concerns about climate change and energy security have brought the transition to renewable sources to the forefront of international discussion and action, highlighting the need for effective support systems to aid decisions that reduce dependence on fossil fuels. MCDM methods, which evaluate and prioritize competing criteria, are crucial in these contexts. Using a collection of 1322 peer-reviewed articles from the Scopus database and tools like Biblioshiny and CiteSpace, there is clear evidence of a rapid increase in publication activity, with a compound annual growth rate of approximately 15.2 %, along with significant methodological progress in this research area. The analysis indicates that current studies are shifting from project-specific investigations (such as site selection and feasibility analyses for energy sites) to broader applications involving systems like micro-grids and hydrogen-based networks. The findings reveal a rapid increase in publication activity after 2018, with sustainability, CO2 emissions, energy transition, and system-level applications emerging as dominant research themes. Digital integration with AI and blockchain is a major emerging trend. A notable emerging trend is the integration of digital and techno-scientific fields, including AI and Blockchain, with MCDM techniques. Decision criteria, considering various policy initiatives and international agreements like the Paris Agreement and COP29, now emphasize energy justice and circular economy principles. Geographically, key contributions come from China, Turkey, and India, although advancements in solar and wind energy research show higher levels of sophistication. Future research priorities include exploring the role of green hydrogen chains for energy production and distribution, evaluating energy storage potential, developing climate resilience models, measuring energy justice, and enhancing digital and technological interfaces in this field.
Demir et al. (Sat,) studied this question.