Towards Sustainable Renewable Energy Project Evaluation: A Multi-Layer Framework Integrating Criteria, Methods and Tools

The growing global demand for energy, together with the urgency of advancing toward a sustainable energy transition, has reinforced the role of renewable energy (RE) in shaping more resilient and low-carbon energy systems. However, the evaluation of RE projects remains highly fragmented, with multiple criteria, methodologies, and tools often applied in isolation, limiting comparability and consistency in decision-making. To address this gap, this study aims to develop a sustainability-oriented framework for renewable energy project evaluation that integrates criteria, analytical methods, and technological tools within a unified architecture. The framework is developed through a four-stage methodological process: component identification, structuring and harmonisation, dimensional integration, and framework design. As a result, an initial set of 433 criteria is consolidated into 51 harmonised criteria organised across six dimensions: environmental, climatic, economic, social, technical, and locational, alongside the systematisation of widely used methodologies and tools. The proposed framework adopts a three-layer structure that links what is evaluated, how it is evaluated, and how the evaluation is operationalised. The findings highlight a stronger representation of environmental and economic dimensions, while social aspects appear less frequently in the analysed studies. Overall, the framework supports more comprehensive decision-making and guides the future development of renewable energy projects within the broader transition toward sustainable energy systems.