Multi-criteria Decision Analysis for Geothermal Energy: A Comparison Between the ELECTRE III and the PROMETHEE II Methods

Abstract

The decision-making process for the exploitation of natural recourses can be assisted with the appropriate evaluation procedure. In energy and environmental resource planning in particular the working out of the emerging conflicts could be accomplished with the help of a multi-criteria decision analysis method. The present article compares the outranking multi-criteria ELECTRE III and PROMETHEE II methods in the context of a real data set taken from a case study concerning the choice of alternative investment scenarios for a geothermal field. The basic principles and algorithms of the two methods are initially presented and subsequently the methods are applied using the same input data and related parameters. The results obtained could provide valuable insights on the similarities and differences of the outcomes obtained by applying the ELECTRE III and the PROMETHEE II methods in a real data set regarding geothermal resource exploitation. Furthermore, it is found that the simultaneous application of both methods could improve the robustness of the decision analysis exercise and enhance the legitimacy of the outcome.

Keywords:

• decision analysis
• ELECTRE III
• geothermal energy
• multi-criteria
• PROMETHEE II

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors would like to thank an anonymous referee.