Energy 226 (2021) 120355

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Energy
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/energy

Identifying challenges and barriers for development of solar energy by

using fuzzy best-worst method: A case study
Ali Mostafaeipour a, b, c, *, Marzieh Alvandimanesh c, Fatemeh Najafi d, Alibek Issakhov e, f
a
Institute of Research and Development, Duy Tan University, Da Nang, 550000, Viet Nam
b
The Faculty of Civil Engineering, Duy Tan University, Da Nang, 550000, Viet Nam
c
Industrial Engineering Department, Yazd University, Yazd, Iran
d
Department of Industrial Management, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran
e
Faculty of Mechanics and Mathematics, Department of Mathematical and Computer Modelling, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Almaty, 050040,
Kazakhstan
f
Kazakh-British Technical University, Almaty, Kazakhstan

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Energy is a main factor for sustainable and economic development of many countries in the world. The
Received 25 February 2020 objective of this paper is to investigate barriers facing solar energy development in Iran through a case
Received in revised form study conducted on the Alborz Province. A questionnaire was designed and then submitted to the
2 March 2021
professionals in the field of solar energy. First, the identified barriers are classified into five categories of
Accepted 5 March 2021
Available online 12 March 2021
technical, legal, economic, sociocultural, and support by help of experts. Then, the fuzzy Best-Worst
method is used to determine importance of the identified criteria and sub-criteria for development of
the solar energy sector in the region. The findings indicate that the primary barriers to solar energy
Keywords:
Renewable energies
development are economic factors which are related to the adverse impact of the uncertain economic
Prioritisation conditions including the sanctions against Iran. Because of the high risk of new business, domestic
Fuzzy BWM (Best worst method) people do not have enough ambition and interest in starting new renewable energy projects. The low
Challenges price of fossil fuels (in the economic category as sub-criteria), has the most significant impact on the
Development stagnation of this sector, which is related to the ease of access to energy in Iran and its effect on the
Solar energy sector interest in renewable energy use. Supporting the private sectors by receiving financial incentives can
help development of the renewable energy sector in the province. By using similar research for other
regions, decision makers can accurately identify challenges for development of solar energy.
© 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction have been witnessed.

Over the years, climate change and energy security, and their
relationships with different energy sources have attracted wide-
spread attention around the world [1]. Statistics indicate that there
is 31% more carbon dioxide in our environment compared with two
centuries ago [2]. Reports published by the World Health Organi-
zation (WHO) show that climate disturbances contribute to the
death of approximately 160,000 persons every year, and this figure
is likely to increase [3]. In recent years, the effects of climate change
have become increasingly apparent in many parts of the world,
where unexpected floods, bizarre droughts, and intense hurricanes
* Corresponding author. Institute of Research and Development, Duy Tan Uni-
versity, Da Nang, 550000, Viet Nam.
E-mail address: alimostafaeipour@duytan.edu.vn (A. Mostafaeipour).
The main reason for global warming is the increase in the
emission of greenhouse gases as a consequence of burning fossil
fuels to fulfil energy demands. Industrial and agricultural growth,
sustainable economy, and the social development of nations
depend on their access to reliable energy sources. With the rising
demand for energy across the world and the knowledge of the
environmental impacts of traditional energy sources, it is now
more important than ever for governments to commit to prudent
energy policymaking. Conservation of non-renewable energy
sources in line with the goals of sustainable development is critical
in this regard [4].
With the worldwide push to reduce reliance on fossil fuels, clean
and renewable energy get an established place in the energy
portfolio of many countries now, which view it as a strategic asset
for achieving sustainable development [5]. By reducing

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2021.120355
0360-5442/© 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
A. Mostafaeipour, M. Alvandimanesh, F. Najafi et al.
Nomenclature
~ij
a Triangular fuzzy number representing the fuzzy
preference of criterion i over j
CB Best (most important) criterion
CW Worst (least important) criterion
~
A Fuzzy best-to-other vector
B mBj
~
A Fuzzy other-to-worst vector
W j
~
aBj Fuzzy performance of best criterion over criterion j
~iw
a Fuzzy performance of criterion i over the worst
criterion
~Bw
a Fuzzy performance of the best criterion over the
worst criterion
uBW Maximum possible fuzzy value of a ~Bw
lw
j Lower boundary of optimal weight of criterion j over
the worst criterion
mw
j Modal of optimal weight of criterion j over the worst
criterion
uw
j Upper boundary of optimal weight of criterion j over
the worst criterion
lw
B Lower boundary of optimal weight of best criterion
over worst criterion
mw
B Modal of optimal weight of best criterion over the
worst criterion
environmental pollutions like fossil fuels, energy sustainability
would be achieved [6]. For many countries in the world, use of
different renewable energy sources have become attractive.
Meanwhile, for performing the designed programmes about
renewable energies, a sustainable political framework is essential
[7]. One of the main reasons for using renewable energy is slowing
the rate of climate change and its impact by reducing greenhouse
gas emissions [8]. Also, according to reports published by the In-
ternational Energy Agency (IEA), renewable energy technology is
essential not just for controlling the climate change but also for
achieving energy security through reduced reliance on fossil fuel
imports [9,10].
There is enormous global potential for using renewable energy
sources to meet the rising demand. In addition to being cleaner
than fossil fuels, renewable energy can stimulate economic growth,
create new jobs, and become a pillar for the growth of
manufacturing and service industries, which should make renew-
able energy especially attractive for developing countries. Based on
the International Energy Agency (IEA), the development of
renewable energy is essential for reducing dependence on fossil
fuels, which itself is imperative for reducing greenhouse gas
emissions in order to control the pace of climate change [11]. Some
predict that by 2030, about 10,200, and by 2035, about 11,800
billion kWh of electricity will be generated from energy sources
annually, which will be a significant achievement [12]. Among the
various sources of renewable energy, solar is the most widely and
abundantly available energy source around the world. With the
popularisation of environmental perspectives and the development
of cost-effective technologies for harvesting renewable energy, the
world has seen a surge in the use of such energy sources, including
solar. Solar energy is unique in the sense that it is the primary
source for almost all the energy needed on earth and can be directly
or indirectly transformed into other forms of energy [13]. A solar
cell is an electronic component that uses the photovoltaic effect to
convert sunlight directly into electricity. Many consider solar
2
Energy 226 (2021) 120355
uw
B Upper boundary of optimal weight of best criterion
over the worst criterion
~ *j
w Optimal fuzzy weight of criterion j
~j
w Fuzzy weight of criterion j
lBj Lower boundary of performance of best criterion over
criterion j
Modal of performance of best criterion over criterion
uBj Upper boundary of performance of best criterion over
criterion j
ljW Lower boundary of performance of criterion j over
the worst criterion
mjW Modal of performance of criterion j over the worst
criterion
ujW Upper boundary of performance of criterion j over
the worst criterion
CR Consistency ratio
~x A very small fuzzy number
x A very small crisp number
K The value obtained from the ratio of the best criterion
to the worst criterion
energy technology as the most essential and promising renewable
energy technology [14]. The reasons given for this claim include
clean energy, abundance, and cost-effectiveness [9], its importance
as the primary source of heat and light, and its role for the gener-
ation of other forms of renewable energy such as biomass and
wind.
Furthermore, solar energy has massive potential as a green
energy source, which is essential for mitigating environmental
pollution and the effects of climate change [2,15,16]. Solar can be
used as an alternative energy source, which is essential for energy
security, and the fact that solar power sector can become a signif-
icant employer and stimulate economic growth [17] makes it a
desirable energy source. Iran is among the major global oil and gas
producers, and the nation relies almost entirely on fossil fuels to
meet its domestic energy demand. Presently, over 98% of the en-
ergy demand in Iran is met using fossil fuels [17]. Although Iran has
enormous renewable energy potential, it has rarely harnessed
renewable energy. A majority of the energy demand in Iran comes
from populated cities which have high residential consumption,
numerous vehicles and machines, and large industrial zones.
This study aims to focus on the challenges encountered during
the use of solar energy in the Alborz province in Iran. The Alborz
province has an area of 5833 km2, and its population is 2,712,400
individuals. Therefore, about 465 individuals are present in every
square kilometre of the Alborz province. Hence, there is massive
energy demand by the residential, transportation, and industrial
sectors which leads to extreme levels of environmental pollution
and water contamination. At the same time, the Alborz province is
conterminous with Tehran and is exposed to a massive amount of
the greenhouse gases emitted by Tehran’s industrial zones and civic
activities.
Considering the rising air pollution problem in the Alborz
province, the development of renewable energy in the province can
be a significant issue of the strategy to mitigate pollution and other
environmental problems. The Alborz province has long sunny days
A. Mostafaeipour, M. Alvandimanesh, F. Najafi et al.
and has immense potential for using solar energy instead of fossil-
based fuels. Furthermore, being positioned in the centre of Iran,
near the capital, and having a decent industrial base, good access to
skilled labour, among other factors, the Alborz province has far
greater potential for renewable energy development than many
other Iranian provinces. Despite the immense solar energy poten-
tial, there are still many obstacles and challenges facing harnessing
and use of solar energy in this province. Therefore, identifying these
barriers and prioritizing the challenges facing the policymakers is
of great importance.
Although there have been substantial international efforts to
control climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions [1],
there are still many challenges that lie in the path of achieving
consensus on the solutions and their implementation. Neverthe-
less, any solution to this problem will involve replacing a portion of
conventional energy sources with alternative renewable energy
sources. Nevertheless, many factors can hinder investment in
renewable energy technologies and also the actual use of these
technologies [1,3,18]. Many studies have been done for assessing
the challenges and barriers of renewable energies development in
different countries. However, their technological, environmental,
social, political, and economic situations are totally different from
developing countries in the Middle East. Most of the research
works were performed in developed and industrial countries like
China and Brazil which are pioneers for renewable energy projects.
They do not have fossil sources and consequently are compelled to
use of renewable energies to supply their required energy in
different sectors [19e27]. But, the situation of Middle Eastern
countries with high fossil sources is totally different. They have
various challenges and barriers to use renewable energies, because
the government is made remarkable income from oil. Hence,
convincing the government and people for using renewable en-
ergies are very time-consuming and need accurate and relevant
reasons and evidence. Rezaee et al. [28] and Panahifar, & Dareshiri
[29] are the only researchers who considered the challenges of
renewable energy implementation in Iran.
Karasu et al. [30] proposed a model of support vector regression
(SVR) with a wrapper-based feature selection approach by imple-
menting multi-objective optimisation technique to forecast price of
oil. It was concluded that the model can have better performance.
Aslan et al. [31] performed a research on blast furnace top gas
pressure control system. It was found that pressure control system
had more overshoots and also steady state errors. Karasu and Altan
[32] introduced a model for solar radiation estimation based on
random forest (RF) with feature selection approach. More than 90
features were used for this research. The features that improved
performance of model were determined then features with better
performance, were proposed for forecasting of solar radiation.
New barriers pertained to this case study involve inadequate
technology, shortage of manufacturers, inability to meet peak en-
ergy demand, arduous and costly legislation process, bureaucratic
barriers, high risk of investment, low fossil fuel prices, lack of funds,
lack of ambition, efficiency challenges concerning energy purchase,
low risk-taking, herd behaviour, low investment motivation, and
international and national relations.
Besides using experts’ opinions and views, we reviewed the
previous related works to date and assessed the similarities and
their contributions. This paper suggests two new solutions that can
be used considering Iran’s perspective of “supporting the private
sector” and “guaranteeing the purchase of electricity from renew-
able sources”. Addressing the cost barriers and formulating solu-
tions will lead to new renewable energy projects to be successfully
implemented.
Due to the lack of relevant and reliable quantitative data for this
topic, the only available data is experts’ opinions. Therefore, to
3
Energy 226 (2021) 120355
achieve the aim of this research, qualitative data by experts’ opin-
ions are used. Some methods are appropriate for qualitative data
like AHP, ANP, BWM, etc. Among all MCDM techniques which use
qualitative data, BWM is the newest, more accurate, and reliable
one, which decreases inconsistency ratio and has overall better
efficiency [33]. But using crisp values to address the barriers and
challenges of undertaking new projects, which are susceptible to
social and governmental resistance, are full of ambiguity and un-
certainty, and is not appropriate and adequate for the aim of this
paper. Hence, using fuzzy sets can reduce the vagueness and the
uncertainty surrounding the problem [34]. Therefore, the fuzzy
best-worst method is used for optimizing this uncertain and
complex problem. This paper focuses on identifying and priori-
tizing new barriers of solar energy development which have not
been considered before. It also identifies barriers which can
collaborate with previous works to solve the problem of using the
renewable solar energy in a country with massive fossil fuel
reserves.
The remaining part of this paper is organised as follows: Next
section discusses literature review. Section 3 provides the infor-
mation of case study. Section 4 provides the research methodology.
Section 5 presents the results and discussion. Finally, Section 6
provides a brief conclusion.
2. Literature review
This section reviews some of the studies conducted on the
challenges and barriers facing solar energy development in Iran
and other countries. Additionally, studies that have used the BWM
approach in the field of renewable energy development have also
been reviewed. Given the direct impact of energy on the economy,
the subject is becoming increasingly important in the research
literature concerning energy [35]. Some of the significant studies
carried out on this subject are being discussed in this section.
In a study by Sindhu et al. [11], the barriers in the path of solar
energy growth in India were identified and prioritised. A total of 36
barriers were identified by examining the literature and consulting
the experts. The barriers were subsequently prioritised using the
analytical hierarchy process (AHP). This study found that political
and sociocultural issues are, respectively, the most and least sig-
nificant barriers to the growth of solar energy. The authors pro-
posed several solutions like reforms in financing mechanisms,
encouraging private investment in this sector, and raising public
awareness about the dangers of overreliance on fossil fuels and the
benefits of solar energy. Rezaee et al. [28] conducted a research to
identify the main barriers and challenges facing the development of
wind and solar energy in Iran. They evaluated the strategies
appropriate for identifying ideal consumption patterns. Correlation
between the identified barriers indirectly affects renewable energy
development. Interpretive structural modelling was used to
determine the effects of the factors.
The results indicate that standardising the bureaucratic pro-
cesses, creating active banks or investment institutions for devel-
oping renewable energy resources, advertising for absorbing
capital, facilitating capital subsidies, and government guarantees
for availing loans are of great importance for renewable energy
development. Peidong et al. [19] analysed the challenges and op-
portunities about the renewable energy sector in China. They sys-
tematically assessed China’s policies for renewable energy
development. According to the results, coordination in policy-
making, innovation in regional policies, process management and
implementation, market investment, and financial support can be
useful for the development and improvement of renewable
technology.
Yenneti [20] studied the structure and challenges specific to
A. Mostafaeipour, M. Alvandimanesh, F. Najafi et al.
solar energy networks in India. She considered the temporal
transformation of policy for solar energy development and
reviewed the political economy of solar energy networks. The
findings indicated that specific economic and social policies are
effective for solar network development in India.
In a study titled “Breaking barriers in deployment of renewable
energy”, Seetharaman et al. [21], identified the economic, institu-
tional, technical, social, and cultural barriers in the path of
renewable energy development. The data collected from the ex-
perts were analysed using structural equation modelling, and these
researchers concluded that the development of renewable energy
is influenced directly by social and technological barriers.
In a study by Carstens et al. [22], the challenges and opportu-
nities for the growth of solar photovoltaic energy in Brazil were
examined from a socio-technical perspective. The goal of this study
was to provide a realistic view of the current status of solar energy
in Brazil and identify the opportunities for growth and develop-
ment. This study reported that growth and development in the field
of solar energy require targeted education, which includes formal
education to improve public awareness about the energy source.
Additionally, there is a need for the promotion of competition in the
renewable energy market.
Kuik et al. [36] examined empirical evidence concerning the
impact of domestic renewable energy policy on wind and solar
energy export. In the present research, the competitive advantages
of these energy sources were estimated using a gravity model of
international trade for the period 1995e2013. The results of this
econometric model showed that domestic renewable energy policy
has a positive impact on the performance and competitive advan-
tage of the renewable energy industry. In a study by Guta [37]
entitled “Determinants of household adoption of solar energy
technology in rural Ethiopia”, an econometric regression analysis
was performed to determine the factors that promote domestic
consumption of solar energy in Ethiopia. The findings showed that
factors related to household wealth, including income, savings,
land size, and assets are all positive determinants for the adoption
of solar energy technology.
A study by Wilberforce et al. [38] titled “Prospects and chal-
lenges of concentrated solar photovoltaics and enhanced
geothermal energy technologies” examined the factors that hinder
the growth of the photovoltaic energy sector. These researchers
stated that reducing reliance on fossil fuels for energy generation is
a viable solution for mitigating the environmental impact of these
fuels and the consequent effect of climate change. After reviewing
the key challenges concerning the development and commerciali-
sation of renewable energy technology, some solutions such as
increased government support, promotion of technological devel-
opment, and adoption of long-term regulatory policies were sug-
gested for overcoming these challenges. Nourollahi et al. [39]
studied the development of geothermal energy in Iran over the past
two decades and outlined the opportunities and challenges in this
area. According to this study, the significant obstacles facing the
development of geothermal energy in Iran include a lack of national
and local laws, poor human resource management, and lack of
opportunities concerning technology transfer. This study suggested
solutions such as adopting national and local laws, training human
resources with the help of international experts and engineers, and
creating motivation for working in this domain. In a study by
Hansen et al. [40] titled “Full energy system transition towards
100% renewable energy in Germany in 2050”, the authors esti-
mated the renewable energy potential of Germany using numerous
scenarios concerning the changes in demand for this energy source.
The findings of this study showed that the German energy system
could indeed wholly transition to renewable energy by 2050.
A case study in Cameroon by Njoh et al. [23] investigated the
4
Energy 226 (2021) 120355
impact of organisational frameworks on renewable energy policy.
This study attempted to identify the barriers facing the develop-
ment of renewable projects. These barriers are rooted in the
country’s organisational framework for the management of energy
policy.
According to these researchers, some aspects of the bureaucratic
system, such as the pyramid structure, top-down hierarchical
communication, negligence of organisational interactions and
standardisation lead to problems such as prolonged ordering and
acquisition processes, which undermine the stability of renewable
energy projects. They suggested that these issues can be overcome
by administrative reforms, which are required to accelerate the
promotion of solar and other renewable technologies in developing
countries.
In a study by Benasla et al. [41], it was argued that given the
immense solar energy potential of the Sahara region, the trans-
mission of a part of this energy to Europe could significantly
improve the share of solar in Europe’s energy supply. The mix of
energy generation from different sources in Europe is shown in
Fig. 1.
Given the importance of energy security and sustainability,
these researchers attempted to determine the availability of solar
energy in North Africa and ascertain the existing barriers and op-
portunities for solar energy generation in the area. This study re-
ported that electricity import from North Africa could play a key
role in helping the European Union achieve its energy goals without
requiring significant investments in transmission infrastructure
and storage facilities.
In a case study in Kuwait titled “Solar and wind energy: Chal-
lenges and solutions in desert regions”, Al-Dousari et al. [42]
examined the challenges in using photovoltaic panels and wind
turbines in desert-like areas. According to these researchers, envi-
ronmental factors including dust aerosols deposited during humid
conditions and adverse environmental conditions pose significant
challenges for using photovoltaic panels and wind turbines in de-
serts and significantly affect the cost-effectiveness of these systems
in such areas. This study reported that in the studied area, the
western parts of the state of Kuwait have more favorable conditions
for building renewable energy systems. In a study by Kheibari et al.
[43], the authors identified reviewed the literature and identified
28 criteria for site evaluation and then used BWM to weigh the
criteria and determine the best sites. The most critical aspect for
location planning for bioethanol plants was economic groups, and
ultimately the Khuzestan province was identified as the best place
for building bioethanol plants in Iran. In a study by Irvani and Lit-
kouhi [44], the authors used the data collected from previous
studies and other sources to design a series of projects for fitting
residential buildings with solar water heaters and then estimated
the benefits of those projects. The results of this study showed that
large investments in renewable energy, especially solar water
heaters, can have an immensely positive impact on the economy of
Fig. 1. Net energy generation in Europe in 2015 [38].
A. Mostafaeipour, M. Alvandimanesh, F. Najafi et al.
Iran.
Shahsavari et al. [45] reviewed the most significant advantages
of solar energy, including cleanliness, abundance, wide availability,
and the excellent potential for the use of this energy in various
ways in Iran and other countries. The review also considered the
advancement and commercialisation of solar energy technology,
which make it highly cost-effective with every passing day. It is
estimated that by 2030, roughly 10,200 billion kWh of electricity
will be produced from this source. Panahifar and Dareshiri [29]
identified the factors that hindered the use of renewable energy in
Iran and suggested some solutions to mitigate or overcome these
obstacles in order to facilitate the implementation of renewable
energy projects in the country. After reviewing the literature, the
researchers divided the identified barriers into five categories and
suggested some solutions for each category. These solutions
included the adoption and implementation of transparent and
well-planned policies and programs, facilitating financial support,
raising public awareness, clarifying laws and regulations, guaran-
teeing the market on renewable energy products and services,
supporting domestic production and facilitating the export process.
In a study by Painuly [46], the challenges in the dissemination of
renewable energy technology were identified using a framework
developed for this purpose, and several solutions were suggested
for tackling these challenges. The identified challenges included
market imperfections and distortions, economic and financial
barriers, institutional and technological barriers, sociocultural
barriers and behavioural barriers.
In a study by Beck and Martinet [18], the barriers facing the
development of renewable energy were categorised into buckets
like cost and pricing, legal and regulatory, and market performance.
In the end, the study reported that these barriers cause economic,
institutional and regulatory disadvantages for the development of
renewable energy sources. The study also provided some policy
suggestions for the promotion and diffusion of renewable energy
sources.
In a study concerning the Maharashtra state of India, Reddy et al.
[47] attempted to identify the economic, technological, market and
institutional barriers to the dissemination of renewable energy
technologies in this area by surveying policy experts, residents, and
people engaged in industrial and commercial activities. After the
barriers were identified, they were ranked from the perspective of
the various stakeholders. In a study by Margolis and Zuboy [48], the
non-technical barriers facing the use of solar energy technologies
were examined. Some examples of such non-technical barriers
include low public awareness, poor government policies, poor
financing infrastructure and the lack of skilled labour. The solar
energy technologies discussed included SPV, solar thermal,
building-scale PV, utility-scale PV, building-integrated PV, solar
domestic hot water system, among others.
Timilsina et al. [49] investigated the challenges in the devel-
opment of solar energy technologies and specifically the economic,
technical and institutional barriers in this regard. The paper also
provided some policy suggestions for accelerating the diffusion of
these technologies. Kapoor et al. [50] examined the technical,
policy and regulation-based, socio-economic and institutional
challenges in the path of the Indian solar energy sector. In this
study, the measures adopted by the Indian government to promote
solar energy technologies were also discussed. As this literature
review highlights that while there have been many studies on the
barriers facing the use and development of solar energy technology,
only a few studies have attempted to analyse and rank these bar-
riers in terms of their intensity. One of these studies is the research
conducted by Ansari et al. [24], where the barriers to the devel-
opment of solar energy in India were ranked based on their
dependence and driving power. The primary analysis was
5
Energy 226 (2021) 120355
performed using Interpretive Structural Modelling (ISM), and then
the results were validated using MICMAC analysis. Also, in a study
by Luthra et al. [25], the barriers to the adoption of renewable and
sustainable energy sources in India were ranked in terms of their
importance and then sensitivity analysis was performed to check
the validity of the model.
Bertheau et al. [51] conducted research concerning the chal-
lenges facing renewable energy implementation in the Philippines.
Political, economic, social, technical and geographical factors were
identified in this research. The researchers used interviews, sur-
veys, and group discussions using a mixed approach. Furthermore,
in a research conducted by Ourahou et al. [52], conventional and
smart grids were considered and then, the integration of renewable
energy with smart grid was analysed in addition to the challenges
and barriers concerning this domain. The challenges identified in
this work comprise adequate grid reliability and the control mea-
sures necessary for providing a steady electricity supply to the
users.
Suwal et al. [7] analysed the shortages of environmental flows
with different environmental management categories for opti-
mizing the power generation. To this end, they used multi-
objective model and genetic algorithm. The results illustrate the
necessity of power generation to protect the nature and enhance
the level of environmental sustainability. Kumar et al. [53] con-
ducted a review research for evaluating the performance of multi-
criteria decision-making methods for renewable energy develop-
ment. They considered different aspects of multi-criteria decision-
making methods, including weaknesses and strengths. Every
multi-criteria decision-making method has weaknesses such as the
inability of integrating multiple preferences [53], undesirable pri-
oritisation [54], the correlation between criteria or objectives
leading to incorrect findings [55,56], leading to complex results by
the use of expert opinion, low flexibility [57], ignorance of the
differences between the negative and positive criteria [58], using
only expert opinion for decision making [53], and uncertainty of
linguistic data and results [59,60], among others.
Table 1 provides a summary of the previous studies related to
the challenges of solar energy development in Iran and other parts
of the world and compares them with the present work. This table
comprises the dimensions, identified barriers and challenges and
the suggested solutions. Accordingly, this study is based on a
comprehensive framework that includes economic, sociocultural,
legal, supportive and technical barriers.
Considering the first part of Table 1, a combination of the best-
worst method with fuzzy sets is used to determine the impor-
tance of the criteria. Owing to the of the sensitiveness of the best-
worst method to expert opinion, we use fuzzy numbers to over-
come the natural uncertainty of expert decision in a real-world
problem. The best-worst method has some benefits including less
pairwise comparisons as compared to the traditional AHP, more
straightforward calculations, better solutions with higher consis-
tency ratio than other weighting methods like AHP and ANP, and an
ability to integrate with other multi-criteria decision-making
methods and fuzzy sets. Additionally, semi-objective weighting
methods have better performance and more accurate results than
subjective or objective weighting methods [34]. The fuzzy best-
worst method does not suffer from the problems of other multi-
criteria decision-making methods evaluated during this research.
Additionally, this method solves the problem of uncertainty, low
consistency, subjective decision making, and undesirable weight-
ing, among others. Considering the third part of Table 1, which
includes identified barriers and challenges in renewable energy
implementation, some more barriers are considered apart from the
existing barriers identified in previous works. The reason for
considering these additional barriers concerns the different
A. Mostafaeipour, M. Alvandimanesh, F. Najafi et al. Energy 226 (2021) 120355

Table 1
Summary of related studies on the challenges facing solar energy development.

6
A. Mostafaeipour, M. Alvandimanesh, F. Najafi et al. Energy 226 (2021) 120355

7
A. Mostafaeipour, M. Alvandimanesh, F. Najafi et al.
Fig. 2. GIS map of solar power generation potential in Iran [70].
conditions in Iran, which is a developing country. The barriers
considered additionally are “poor technology”, “shortage of man-
ufacturers”, “inability to meet peak energy demand”, “arduous and
costly legislation process”, “bureaucratic barriers”, “high invest-
ment costs”, “low fossil fuel price”, “lack of funds for investment”,
“lack of ambition”, “low priority of efficiency in energy purchases”,
“low risk-taking”, “herd behaviour” and “international and national
relations”. Due to the long-term sanctions on Iran [61], technology
and equipment are typically formulated by the engineers in the
country, who face many limitations.
Therefore, the equipment and technology developed in Iran
have less capability and quality compared to the same technology
created using high-tech factories in developed countries. Hence,
“poor technology” is a significant barrier facing solar energy
development in Iran. Furthermore, the sanctions against Iran
Fig. 3. Map of Iran, including the Alborz province.
8
Energy 226 (2021) 120355
adversely affect national and international relations. Also, consid-
ering the high inflation rate in Iran [62], investors and manufac-
turers are not keen on investing in industry and manufacturing;
instead, they prefer to invest in the stock market and intermediator
jobs which are more profitable in this country. Therefore, “shortage
of manufacturers”, “lack of ambition” and “lack of funds for in-
vestment” are crucial challenges concerning this study. Moreover,
the legislation process in Iran is cost and time-intensive because
the licenses required for starting renewable energy activities have
several stages, and these licenses should be obtained from several
ministries and organisations. Hence, “arduous and costly legislation
process” is another crucial barrier facing solar project imple-
mentation. Organisations in the middle east are mostly bureau-
cratic and hierarchical [63] and getting an establishment license
and the decision-making processes are very hard and time-
consuming.
Hence, “bureaucratic barriers” is an essential factor added to this
case study. Due to the low exchange rate of the Iranian Rial
compared to the dollar and other international currency [64], and
considering the high inflation rate [62], initial investment costs are
exorbitant to the extent of billions of Rial. Therefore, “high invest-
ment costs” is a critical barrier and should be added to this paper.
Iran has the fourth-largest oil reserves and second-largest gas re-
serves in the world [65]; hence, fossil fuel is very cheap, making
“low fossil fuel price” is a crucial factor working against the
development of renewable energy. According to Ref. [66], the
people of the middle east are conservative and usually invest in
projects with short payback time and guaranteed profit. Hence, we
added “low risk-taking” as a significant barrier.
Table 1 lists the solutions suggested for dealing with the chal-
lenges facing renewable energy development. Due to the immense
influence of the Iranian government and the public sector on this
industry, “supporting the private sector” is a critical requirement
which is recommended in this study. Also, investors and energy
producers in Iran are always concerned about selling the produced
energy because renewable energy is more expensive than fossil
fuel-based energy. Therefore, “guaranteeing the purchase of elec-
tricity from renewable sources” can assure and encourage
A. Mostafaeipour, M. Alvandimanesh, F. Najafi et al. Energy 226 (2021) 120355

Table 2
Status of the Alborz rangeland area [71].

No. Rangeland status Area (Thousand hectares) Percentage to the whole province

1 Good 211 41
2 Medium 141 27
3 Poor 66 12
4 Total Rangeland 418 80
5 Total area of the province 522 100

Table 3 shows novelty of the present work. The novelty of the present work
Number of sunny days in different regions of the Alborz province [71]. concerns using a new methodology and case study for the chal-
Zone No. of sunny days Rangeland lenges in using solar energy in a specific area (the Alborz province
Karaj 342 Semi-arid
of Iran). The research considers interviews with the experts on the
Payam 346 Cold Mediterranean solar energy industry and technology, which reveals some obsta-
Hashtgerd 334 Cold dry cles that have not been identified in previous works. Furthermore,
Taleghan 347 Semi-dry cold the new solutions were suggested in the current work. Lastly, the
identified challenges are prioritised using the fuzzy BWM method,
which is a new multi-criteria decision-making method that is
combined with the fuzzy theory to handle the uncertainties in the
inputs to produce more reliable results. The current work proposes
a set of new criteria (barriers) to fulfill the shortages of pervious
works. Also, the results of previous works do not have applicability
and profitability for developing countries with easy fossil fuel
accessibility; because their case studies are mostly industrial
countries which are leaders and pioneers in renewable energies.
But the results of this paper are belonged to middle eastern and
other developing countries with big natural energy reserves. Pre-
senting useful and applicable barriers to help the governments and
policy makers for realizing the obstacles in the way of renewable
energy projects in developing countries. Moreover, the better un-
derstanding of the challenges cause establishing the correct rules
and regulations for energy industry.

3. Case study

3.1. Iran’s position in terms of solar energy

Considering that roughly two-thirds of the Iranian territory

Fig. 4. Research methodology.
manufacturers and investors.
Identification, analysis, and ranking of the challenges and ob-
stacles in the way of greater use of solar energy technology in the
Alborz province should be performed. These exercises can assist in
planning and policymaking to exploit the existing solar energy
potential for growth and development and stimulate the use of
solar and other renewable technologies in the area.
There is a gap in the literature for thorough identifying and
investigation of challenges and barriers for development of solar
energy in the world. Novelty of this study is the use of different
criteria for the first time as followings: poor technology, shortage of
manufacturers, inability to meet peak energy demand, arduous and
costly legislation process, bureaucratic barriers, high investment
risk, low fossil fuel prices, lack of fund for investment, and finally
lack of ambition. Also, this is for the first time that following
dimension and factors are investigated: supportive, legal, eco-
nomic, social, technical, and cultural & behavioural. The present
study fulfils the need for identifying challenged and barriers toward
using solar energy in different regions of the world. This is the first
time which a study is performed for this purpose. Table 1 illustrates
the summary and comparison of related research works which also
experiences more than 300 sunny days a year, the country is well-
positioned to harvest massive amounts of solar energy [67]. The
region with the lowest solar energy potential in Iran is the southern
coast of the Caspian Sea, which experiences many cloudy and rainy
days over the year in addition to high humidity. The solar irradiance
in the northern and southern regions of the country has been re-
ported to be 2.8 kWh/m2 and 5.4 kWh/m2, respectively [68]. Iran’s
first photovoltaic power plant with a capacity of 4 kWh was built in
2008 in Shiraz. In recent years, new government support policies
have helped increase the total capacity of the solar power plants of
the country to more than 45 MW; however, the installed solar ca-
pacity is far from adequate. Therefore, several plans have been
developed to increase the amount of electricity generated from
solar sources in Iran. Given the size of the country and the diversity
of climatic conditions in its many regions, one of the challenges
concerning investment in this field is how to determine which
Table 4
Linguistic variables and equivalent fuzzy numerical functions.
Variable Numerical function
Equal importance (1, 1, 1)
Poor importance (2/3, 1, 3/2)
Relatively important (3/2, 2, 5/2)
Very important (5/2, 3, 7/2)
Quite important (7/2, 4, 9/2)

9
A. Mostafaeipour, M. Alvandimanesh, F. Najafi et al. Energy 226 (2021) 120355

region is most suitable for building solar power plants [69]. Fig. 2
shows the GIS map of Iran and the most suitable locations for
building PV power plants in this country [68].
3.2. Climatic conditions of the Alborz province
Alborz is the thirty-first province of Iran, with an area of 5800
square kilometres. This province is located in the north-central
parts of Iran at the foot of the Alborz mountain range. It is
bordered by the Mazandaran province on the north, the Qazvin
province on the west, the Tehran province on the east and south-
east, and the Markazi province on the southwest. The major cities of
this province are Karaj, Savojbolagh, Nazarabad, and Taleghan.
Mostly influenced by the Alborz Mountains, this province has cold
winters and mild summers. However, the southern parts of the
province are warmer and drier as they are adjacent to one of the
driest deserts in Iran [70]. Fig. 3 depicts a map of Iran and highlights
the location of the Alborz Province.
As shown in Table 2, about 12% of the province comprises
sparsely vegetated rangelands. This includes vast arid and uncul-
tivated plains in the southern parts of the province in Eshtehard,
Malard, Savojbolagh Hashtgerd, and other areas, which are sur-
rounded by industrial zones and factories. This is a good location for
the construction of solar farms and power plants for the use by
nearby industries and residential suburbs.
As shown in Table 3, the Alborz province has excellent potential
in terms of solar irradiance and experiences many sunny days every
year [68]. For example, the city of Taleghan experiences more than
347 sunny days a year, which makes it a good location for har-
nessing solar energy.
4. Methodology
The research methodology is specified below:
1. The challenges and barriers were identified by using expert
opinion on the subject
2. Collecting expert opinion regarding the criteria (for pairwise
comparison)
3. Using the Fuzzy BWM for calculating the weights of the criteria
and sub-criteria
and solving a max-min problem to determine the weight of each
criterion. BWM has some limitations; for example, in complex real
problems with many criteria and high uncertainty, the method of
BWM would be too complex and difficult to solve. Also, when a
problem needs a unique optimal solution, BWM is not appropriate;
because this method ranks the criteria and does not give a unique
optimal solution [73].
In this method, the validity of the comparisons must be checked
using a measure called the inconsistency ratio. This method has the
following advantages over other MCDM methods:
- It requires fewer pairwise comparisons, which is especially ad-
vantageous when the assessment involves a large number of
criteria
- This method leads to robust comparisons, meaning that it pro-
vides more reliable solutions [74e76].
- The BWM method can be used to solve some MCDM problems
that require unique methods for arriving at the solution [77,78].
- It has a better performance compared to traditional AHP
because it has higher consistency rate.
- It is flexible and can be used in combination with other methods.
- Using fuzzy sets with the best-worst method can enhance the
quality of the findings and reduce ambiguity and uncertainty
[34].
Fuzzy BWM is presented in the following section:
5.1. Fuzzy best-worst method (fuzzy BWM)
Step 1. Identifying a set of relative criteria: fc1 ; c2 ; …::; cn g[79]:
Step 2. Determining the best and worst criteria using expert
opinion: cB is the best criterion and cW is the worst. The best cri-
terion is most important while the worst criterion is of least
importance for the study.
Step 3. Creating the reference comparison matrix, including the
fuzzy best-to-others and fuzzy others-to-worst vectors:
Equation (1) relates to the fuzzy best-to-other vector [80]:


~ ¼ a
A ~ ; e
a …: ; ~
a (1)
B B1 B2 Bn

~ is best-to-other vector. a
A ~Bj denotes the fuzzy preference of best
B
5. Ranking 5 criteria and 22 sub-criteria and determining the ~BB ¼ ð1; 1; 1Þ is a
criterion (cB Þ over others (cj Þ ; j ¼ 1,2, ….,n. a
priorities comparison of the best criterion with itself.
The linguistic terms should be transformed into fuzzy numbers
Fig. 4 shows the flowchart of this research briefly. based on Table 4.
Multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) methods are a group of Fuzzy other-to-worst vector is specified in equation (2) [80]
techniques developed to identify the best option from a set of

available alternatives when the assessment should be based on ~ ¼ a ~1w ; a
~2w : …:; a
~nw
A W (2)
multiple criteria.
Given the ambiguity and uncertainty involved in the linguistic
~ is an other-to-worst vector. a
A ~iw denotes the fuzzy preference
variables comprising conventional MCDM methods, it is common W
to combine these methods with the fuzzy set theory to ensure that of criterion i (ci Þ over the worst criterion (cw); i ¼ 1,2,
decision making is conducted considering this issue. In other ….n. a~ww ¼ ð1; 1; 1Þ is a comparison of the worst criterion with
words, fuzzy MCDM methods attempt to produce more accurate itself.
outputs by facilitating a better understanding of decision-makers’ Step 4. Calculating the optimal fuzzy weights: ðw~ *1 ; w
~ *2 ; …::; w
~ *n Þ
assessments [4,72]. Fuzzy weights can be obtained by using non-linear models.
The BWM method is a powerful MCDM method for determining W
If W ~ ~
Wj ¼ aBj and Ww ¼ ajW , then the obtained weights are optimal.
B j

the relative importance of several criteria based on pairwise com-    

W   
parisons of the best and worst among them with other criteria [72]. To have the best weights, Wwj ¼ a ~jW  and W B
¼ ~
a

Bj  should be
This method involves asking the decision-maker to specify the best  Wj 
and worst criteria among those considered (so that they can be minimum for all j. In some cases, it may be necessary to obtain the
used as reference points) and make pairwise comparisons between crisp weights for each criterion. Therefore, after obtaining the fuzzy
each set of two criteria and other criteria [43], and then formulating weights represented by triangular fuzzy numbers, they must be
10
A. Mostafaeipour, M. Alvandimanesh, F. Najafi et al. Energy 226 (2021) 120355

Table 5
Consistency ratio for FBWM.

Linguistic terms Equally importance Weakly important Fairly important Very important Absolutely important
~BW
a (1,1,1) (2/3,1,3/2) (3/2,2,5/2) (5/2,3,7/2) (7/2,4,9/2)
CI 3.00 3.8 5.29 6.69 8.04

converted into crisp values [81,82]. Since this study required the  
crisp weights of the criteria, the obtained fuzzy weights were  
8 w~ 
>  B ~  ~
converted into crisp weights using equation (3) [81]. >
>   aBj   x
>
> w~ 
>
>  j 
  l þ 4m þ u >
>
~ ¼ i >
>
crisp N i i
(3) >
>  
6 >
>  
>
>  ~
w  ~
>
>  j a ~ x
The weights of the criteria are determined by solving the >
>  
>
> w~
w jw

following optimisation problem [80]: >
>
<
X n
 (5)
8
 >
>
> X n >
> R ~j ¼ 1
w
>
> >
>
>
> R ~j ¼ 1
w >
> j¼1
8   9 > > >
>
>    > > j¼1
> >
>
<w  w~ = < >
>
~ ~Bj ;  j a
~jw  s:t lw >
> lw  mw j  uj
w
minmax  B  a w
w
j  mj  uj
w
(4) >
> j
j > ~j
: w  ~w >
; > > >
>
 >
> >
>
>
> lw
j 0
>
> lw 0
>
> >
: j
>
: j ¼ 1; 2; …::; n
j ¼ 1; 2; …:; n
WB ¼ ðlw w w w w w w w w ~
B :mB :uB Þ Wj ¼ ðlj :mj :uj Þ, Ww ¼ ðlW ; mW ;uW Þ, aBj ¼
In equation (5), ~x ¼ ðlx ;mx ;ux Þ, lw ~*
j  mj  uj , and x ¼ ðk ;k ;k Þ
w w * * *
~jw ¼ ðliW ; miW ; uiW Þ.
ðlBj ; mBj ; uBj Þ and a
Equation (4) can be converted to the following optimisation ; k*  lx .
problem: The abovementioned equation can be solved as follows [81].
~
minx* s.t

min~x s.t

   
 lw ; mw ; uw     lw :mw :uw   
8  B B B  * * *
 lBj ; mBj ; uBj   ðk :k :k Þ 8  B
 B B 
 lBj :mBj :uBj   ðk* :k* :k* Þ
>
>  lw ; mw ; uw  >
>  lw :mw :uw 
> j
> j j >
> j j j
>
> >
>
>
>  >
>
>
>
>  w w w  >
>
>  w w w  
> 
> j l :m :u  
 >
>  l :mj :uj  
>
> j j * * * > j
> * * *
>
>     l jW :m :u
jW jW   ðk :k :k Þ >
> 
 w w w   l Bj :mBj Bj   ðk :k :k Þ
:u
>  lw
>
w
W :mW :uW
w  >
>  lw :mw :uw 
>
> >
>
>
< >
<
X n
 X n

(6)
>
> R w~ ¼ 1 >
> R ~j ¼ 1
w
>
> j >
>
>
> >
>
>
>
j¼1 >
>
j¼1
>
> >
>
>
> >
>
>
> jl w
 m w
 u w > w w
> lj  mj  uj
w
>
> j j >
>
>
> >
>
>
> >
>
>
> w >
> w
: lj  0 : lj  0

j ¼ 1; 2; …; n j ¼ 1:2: …:n

Table 6
Definition of main criteria.

Criteria Definition

C1 Technical factors Physical and technical barriers including requisite equipment, knowledge of installation the solar panels, etc.
C2 Legal factors Imperative governmental processes, laws, and procedures for executing renewable energies projects.
C3 Economic factors Price, investment, and all costs respective to solar energy projects.
C4 Sociocultural factors Everything related to behavioral specifications or awareness about solar technologies development.
C5 Support factors Governmental support or renewable energy communities’ support for solar energy development plans.

11
A. Mostafaeipour, M. Alvandimanesh, F. Najafi et al. Energy 226 (2021) 120355

Table 7
Barriers to the growth of the solar energy sector.

Sub-criteria Denotations
Criteria

C1 Technical factors Poor technology C1-1

Shortage of manufacturers C1-2
Poor quality of solar system equipment C1-3
Inability to meet peak energy demand C1-4
C2 Legal factors Arduous and costly legislation process C2-1
Bureaucratic barriers C2-2
Lack of standards and organizational frameworks C2-3
Power storage limitations C2-4
C3 Economic factors High investment risk C3-1
Low fossil fuel prices C3-2
Lack of fund for investment C3-3
High investment and operations costs C3-4
C4 Sociocultural factors Lack of ambition C4-1
Low priority of efficiency in energy purchases C4-2
Low risk-taking C4-3
Herd behavior C4-4
Resistance to change or new paradigms C4-5
Low public awareness C4-6
Low investment motivation C4-7
C5 Support factors Tax exemption C5-1
International and national relations C5-2
Fossil fuels subsidies C5-3

Table 8 5.1.1. Consistency ratio

Importance and priority of the main criteria. Fuzzy comparison is consistent if a~Bj  a
~jw ¼ a~Bw [83], where a ~Bj
Main criteria Fuzzy weights W* Rank is the preference of the best criterion on criterion j, a ~jw is the
Economic 0.3580 0.3410 0.2964 0.3364 1 preference of criterion j on the worst criterion, and a ~Bw is the
Support 0.2386 0.2195 0.1922 0.218133 2 preference of the best criterion over the worst.
Legal 0.2314 0.2059 0.1865 0.206917 3 According to Table 4, the maximum of a ~Bj 
~Bw is (7/2, 4, 9/2). If a
Sociocultural 0.1608 0.1489 0.1295 0.14765 4
Technical 0.1236 0.0892 0.0822 0.093767 5
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
ajw saBw (i.e. aBj  ajw  aBw or aBj  ajw  aBw ), inconsistency rate

Fig. 5. Importance of main criteria.

Table 9
Importance and priority of technical sub-criteria.

Sub-criteria Fuzzy weights W* Rank

Poor technology C1-1 0.4719 0.4256 0.3788 0.4255 1

Poor quality of solar system equipment C1-3 0.2222 0.2146 0.2057 0.2143 2
Shortage of manufacturers C1-2 0.2119 0.1936 0.1811 0.1945 3
Inability to meet peak energy demand C1-4 0.1833 0.1643 0.1515 0.1653 4

By solving equation (6), optimal fuzzy weights are ~jw and

will increase. The highest inconsistency rate occurs when a
~ *1 ; w
obtained: ðw ~ *2 ; …:; w
~ *n Þ ~Bj are both equal to a
a ~Bw .
Wj WB WB
Since Ww ¼ Ww  Wj , it can be converted to Ref. [80]:

12
A. Mostafaeipour, M. Alvandimanesh, F. Najafi et al. Energy 226 (2021) 120355


 Using experts’ opinions, 22 criteria were identified regarding

~Bj  xeÞ  a
a ~jw  ~x ¼ a~Bw þ ~x
~Bj ¼ a
~jw ¼ a
~Bw Þ, Equation
For maximum fuzzy inconsistency (a
(7) can be written as follows:



 technique was used. Then, the models were solved using Lingo
~BW  ~x  a
a ~BW  ~x ¼ a~BW þ ~x
Which ultimately turns into [84]:



~x2  1 þ 2a
~BW ~x þ a~2BW  a
~BW ¼ 0
~x ¼ ðlx ; mx ; ux ) and a f ¼ ðl ; m ; u Þ [74,80,81].
BW BW BW BW
The maximum of a BW f ¼ ðlBW ; mBW ; uBW Þ is (7/2, 4, 9/2), which
means lBW ¼ 7=2, mBW ¼ 4, and uBW ¼ 9=2. Therefore, the
maximum value of lBW , mBW , and uBW is at last 9/2. Equation (9) can
be converted to the following form [81].
 
x  ð1 þ 2uBW Þx þ u2BW  uBW ¼ 0
2
(10)
Where uBW ¼ 1; 3=2; 5=2; 7=2; 9=2 sequentially.
By solving equation (10) with different uBW , maximum x is ob-
tained. Based on this definition, for pairwise comparisons to be
considered consistent, this index should be less than 0.1 [80,81].
Table 5 lists the consistency ratio for FBWM.
5.2. Data collection
To identify the barriers and challenges facing solar energy
development, 14 college professors, and 6 professional researchers
in solar energy field, were interviewed. All the experts had more
than ten years of experience in renewable energy and policymaking
which worked in the Material and Energy Research Centre in the
Karaj City of Iran. To reduce the number of challenges, some of the
identified factors were eliminated based on the experts’ opinions.
Twenty-two criteria were identified and categorised into five
classes, namely, technical, support, economic, sociocultural, and
legal.
Then, a questionnaire was designed and sent to the experts
using email. Collecting the opinions of the experts about the values
of each criterion (pairwise comparison) took approximately 45
days. The questionnaire contained several questions about target
variables and was based on Fuzzy BWM. The questionnaire is pre-
sented in the appendix. Since the questionnaire was based on the
analytic hierarchy process, its reliability was assessed using the
inconsistency ratio, which determines the suitability of questions
by examining the responses of the experts. In the fuzzy BWM
method, if the inconsistency ratio for pairwise comparisons is over
0.1, the comparisons should be revised [81,85].
6. Results and discussion
In this section, firstly, the criteria and sub-criteria are analysed,
and then, the final results of ranking the challenges are discussed.
(7) the barriers to the growth of the solar energy sector in the Alborz
province. According to their characteristics, the criteria were cat-
egorised into five classes, including technical, legal, economic, so-
ciocultural, and support. Then, a questionnaire was designed and
validated by experts. To analyse the collected data, the Fuzzy BWM
(8) software and the weights of criteria, sub-criteria, and the inter-
relations were determined.
Finally, the crisp weights of the categories were determined
(Equation (3)) and the final ranking of factors and their categories
(9) was done.
Table 6 specifies the definition of criteria. The criteria and sub-
criteria of the current study are presented in Table 7.
6.1. Criteria weighting results
The results of weighting the categories are presented in Table 8
and Fig. 5:
 Economic category
According to Table 8, the economic category contains the most
important factors concerning the existing challenges and barriers.
One of the main reasons is the high inflation rate and fluctuating
economy of Iran. According to reports from the Central Bank of Iran,
the inflation rate is between 10 and 35% for the last decade [86].
Hence, considering the unstable economic situation, difficulty in
facilitating imports, sanctions imposed against Iran, fluctuating
exchange rate, inaccessibility and high maintenance cost of
equipment, the economic category is of great importance for ex-
perts, practitioners, and investors. The significance of the economic
category is in agreement with the findings of [43].
 Support category
As shown in Table 8, the support factor is the second most
important. The government implements most of Iran’s energy
projects. Furthermore, Iran, like other Middle Eastern countries, has
massive fossil fuel reserves like those of gas, oil and coal. Easy en-
ergy accessibility at low prices, which are determined by the gov-
ernment leads to a profound impact on renewable energy demand.
By supporting the sale of renewable energy, it is feasible to have
investors and practitioners interested in the implementation of
renewable energy projects.
 Legal category
Legal processes specific to obtaining the license for starting and
implementing renewable energy projects in the Alborz province
are challenging and time-consuming. Additionally, complex legis-
lation for exporting energy to other countries hurts investor
motivation. Although the legal factor is not as important as the
support factor, it ranks third and influences the success of solar
energy projects.

Table 10
Importance and priority of legal sub-criteria.

Sub-criteria fuzzy weights W* Rank

Bureaucratic barriers C2-2 0.3935 0.3546 0.3122 0.3540 1

Lack of standards and organizational frameworks C2-3 0.3609 0.3118 0.2758 0.3139 2
Arduous and costly legislation process C2-1 0.2425 0.2273 0.2044 0.2260 3
Power storage limitations C2-4 0.1144 0.1102 0.1036 0.1098 4

13
A. Mostafaeipour, M. Alvandimanesh, F. Najafi et al. Energy 226 (2021) 120355

Table 11
Importance and priority of economic sub-criteria.

Sub-criteria fuzzy weights W* Rank

Low fossil fuel price C3-2 0.3154 0.2951 0.2816 0.2973 1

High investment and operations costs C3-4 0.28 0.2603 0.24 0.2601 2
High investment risk C3-1 0.2698 0.2499 0.2582 0.2593 3
Lack of fund for investment C3-3 0.2061 0.182 0.162 0.1833 4

Table 12
Importance and priority of sociocultural sub-criteria.

Sub-criteria fuzzy weights W* Rank

Low priority of efficiency in energy purchases C4-2 0.2864 0.2524 0.2229 0.2531 1
Low investment motivation C4-7 0.2172 0.2020 0.1857 0.2018 2
Low risk-taking C4-3 0.1363 0.1259 0.1142 0.1256 3
Resistance to change or new paradigms C4-5 0.1281 0.1172 0.1104 0.1178 4
Low public awareness C4-6 0.1335 0.1132 0.1020 0.1147 5
Herd behavior C4-4 0.1033 0.0926 0.0861 0.0933 6
Lack of ambition C4-1 0.0956 0.0933 0.0902 0.0931 7

Table 13
Importance and priority of support sub-criteria.

Sub-criteria Fuzzy weights W* Rank

Tax exemption C5-1 0.4316 0.4159 0.3879 0.4138 1

International and national relations C5-2 0.3350 0.3114 0.2848 0.3109 2
Fossil fuel subsidies C5-3 0.2922 0.2438 0.2603 0.254617 3

Table 14 Lastly, according to expert opinion, technical factors form the

Final ranking of the criteria using fuzzy BWM. least important category. It may be rooted in good technical
Main criteria Weight Denotations First weight Final weight Rank knowledge concerning solar networks, or the availability of
informed labour in this province. According to the statistical centre
Technical 0.0937 C1-1 0.4255 0.0398 11
C1-2 0.1945 0.0182 17 of Iran [88], the literacy rate of the Alborz province is above 90%. It
C1-3 0.2143 0.0200 15 shows that there are many academic and skilled workers available
C1-4 0.1653 0.0154 20 for implementing energy projects. Because of the long-term sanc-
Legal 0.2069 C2-1 0.226 0.0467 10
tions, the necessary equipment and machines are usually produced
C2-2 0.354 0.0732 5
C2-3 0.3139 0.0649 7
by domestic companies using native labour [89]. Therefore, acces-
C2-4 0.1098 0.0227 14 sibility to skilled and literate labour is an appropriate justification
Economic 0.3364 C3-1 0.2593 0.0872 4 for the rank of technical category in this research. Fig. 5 shows
C3-2 0.2973 0.1000 1 importance of main criteria.
C3-3 0.1833 0.0616 8
C3-4 0.2601 0.0874 3
Sociocultural 0.1476 C4-1 0.0931 0.0137 22 6.2. Sub-criteria weighting results
C4-2 0.2531 0.0373 12
C4-3 0.1256 0.0185 16
C4-4 0.0933 0.0137 21 6.2.1. Technical sub-criteria
C4-5 0.1178 0.0173 18 Table 9 specifies the fuzzy weights of technical sub-criteria
C4-6 0.1147 0.0169 19 obtained by solving the models considering the weight-based pri-
C4-7 0.2018 0.0297 13
orities. According to Table 9, inferior technology is ranked first with
Support 0.2181 C5-1 0.4138 0.0902 2
C5-2 0.3109 0.0678 6 a weight of 0.4255. Because of the sanctions, renewable energy
C5-3 0.254617 0.0555 9 technology is usually created by skilled domestic experts. Hence,
energy technology is not fully mature and highly efficient. For this
reason, experts believe that poor technology has the most signifi-
 Sociocultural category cant weight among the technical factors. Low quality of solar
equipment is next with a weight of 0.2143, shortage of manufac-
Awareness of the local people in developing countries leads to turers and the inability to meet peak energy demand have weights
reduced social resistance against the implementation of large-scale 0.1945 and 0.1653, respectively, thereby occupying the second to
projects. The people of the Alborz province are acquainted with the fourth places.
renewable energy concept. Therefore, this category has relatively Solar energy is a relatively new energy source used for fulfilling
less importance compared to the other factors; however, in general, the electricity demand in the Alborz province and is not understood
sociocultural factors, the behaviour and beliefs of people still in- as an excellent quality power source. Additionally, there are not
fluence the success of new projects. The rank of social factor is many solar equipment manufacturers, which leads to a serious
confirmed using the work in Ref. [87]. challenge concerning the use of solar energy. Due to the high en-
ergy demand in the Alborz province (because of the high popula-
 Technical category tion), solar energy alone cannot fulfil the peak energy demand. It
must be used concurrently with other energy sources.
14
A. Mostafaeipour, M. Alvandimanesh, F. Najafi et al.
Fig. 6. Final weights of sub-criteria.
6.2.2. Legal sub-criteria
The fuzzy weights obtained from the models for legal sub-
criteria and their priorities are presented in Table 10. As shown in
Table 10, bureaucratic barriers, lack of standards and organisational
frameworks, arduous and costly legislation process, and power
storage limitations have weights 0.3540, 0.3139, 0.2260, and
0.1098, respectively, thereby ranking first to fourth, in order.
Middle eastern countries have rigid hierarchical structures in
organisations, which are often government-based. Hence, bureau-
cratic barriers created by the hierarchical structure are significant
for practitioners. Additionally, because of the time-consuming
licensing process, the projects are typically abandoned. Lack of
standards leads to challenges and uncertainty in establishing a
renewable energy start-up. Legislation processes are very stringent,
and the long process time in Iran is tiring and illogical for the
15
Energy 226 (2021) 120355
investors. The Power ministry has its limitations concerning
different areas, which makes the implementation of renewable
energy projects hard. Hence, “power storage limitations” is
important for the decision-makers, but its adverse effects on de-
cisions and project implementation is lesser than those of other
legal factors.
6.2.3. Economic sub-criteria
Table 11 provides the fuzzy weights of the economic sub-criteria
and their ranking. According to Table 11, low fossil fuel price has a
weight of 0.2973 and is at the top among all the economic chal-
lenges. Its reason is the massive and easily accessible fossil fuels
reserves in Iran. The next factor is high investment and operations
costs, which has a weight of 0.2601, followed by high investment
risk having a weight of 0.2593, and, lastly, lack of fund for
A. Mostafaeipour, M. Alvandimanesh, F. Najafi et al.
investment, which has a weight of 0.1833. Because of material
shortage and high production cost, investment and operational
costs are very high as determined in this case study. Additionally,
investment is subject to high risk because, under such economic
conditions, there is always a chance of the renewable energy
business failing.
6.2.4. Sociocultural sub-criteria
The fuzzy weights obtained for the sociocultural sub-criteria
and the priority of these factors are presented in Table 12. Based
on the findings, the low priority of efficiency in energy purchases
has a weight of 0.2531. In contrast, low investment motivation, low
risk-taking, resistance to change or new paradigms, low public
awareness, herd behaviour, and lack of ambition are weighted
0.2018, 0.1256, 0.1178, 0.1147, 0.0933, and 0.0931, respectively,
thereby indicating a decreasing order of priority. All sociocultural
criteria are rooted in eastern culture. Asian people are usually risk-
averse, conservative and collective. Besides, it takes logical and
reliable evidence to motivate them to accept new facilities. There-
fore, norms, behaviours, beliefs, awareness and every factor related
to the culture and the people can be effective for use in the context
of the new projects in this area.
6.2.5. Support sub-criteria
Table 13 specifies the fuzzy weights and ranking of the support
sub-criteria. The weights of tax exemption, international and na-
tional relations and fossil fuel subsidies are 0.4138, 0.3109, and
0.2546, in decreasing order of rank.
Considering the high tax rate, tax exemption for investors and
practitioners of renewable energy projects is encouraging. Inter-
national and national relations are vital for access to technical
support services. Furthermore, fossil fuel subsidies which are given
by the government is another important factor because a reduction
in fossil fuels subsidies will cause people to start adopting renew-
able energy.
To determine the consistency ratio, at each step of the solution,
the K values obtained from the ratio of the best criterion to the
worst criterion were divided by their corresponding values. In all
stages, this ratio was less than 0.1.
To obtain the final weights and the final ranking of the sub-
criteria, the weight calculated in the previous step for each sub-
criterion was multiplied by the weight of the corresponding main
criterion. The resulting weights were then used to obtain the final
ranking of the sub-criteria. Table 14 lists the results of these cal-
culations and the final ranking of the sub-criteria. Fig. 6 illustrate
final weights of sub-criteria.
As shown in Table 14, “low fossil fuel prices” with a final weight
of 0.1 and “tax exemption” with a final weight of 0.0902 are the top
two most important factors among all the factors. In other words,
these two factors are the serious barriers hindering the growth and
development of the solar energy sector in the studied region. The
other most important factors in this regard are “high investment
and operating costs” and “high investment risk” with the final
weights of 0.0874 and 0.0872, respectively. In contrast, among the
considered factors, sociocultural factors like “lack of ambition” and
“herd behaviour” with the final weight of 0.0137 were identified as
the least important barriers impeding the development of the solar
energy sector.
7. Conclusion
In the current research, the challenges and barriers facing solar
energy development in the Alborz province were identified
through interviews with the experts and the researchers in the field
of solar energy and policymaking. A questionnaire was designed
16
Energy 226 (2021) 120355
and sent to the experts to collect the data needed for prioritisation
of these barriers using the fuzzy BWM. In this questionnaire, the
experts were asked to choose the factors they consider to be the
most and least important for the development of the solar energy
sector, and then rate the importance of other factors relative to
these two factors. After collecting the data using the question-
naires, optimisation models for the main criteria and sub-criteria
were programmed and then solved using the Lingo software to
obtain the fuzzy weight for every factor. In the end, the calculated
fuzzy weights were converted to crisp weights and ranking was
performed. Main findings of research include:
 According to the calculated weights and because of the fluctu-
ating and unstable economic conditions in Iran, the economic
category with a weight of 0.33 ranks first concerning the main
criteria (Table 8).
 Due to the domestic production of renewable energy equipment
and considering the excellent availability of skilled literate
workers, technical challenges are not severe; therefore, the least
essential group is technical, weighting 0.09 (Table 8).
 Based on Table 8, economic, support, legal, sociocultural, and
technical categories have weights 0.3364, 0.2181, 0.2069, 0.1476,
and 0.093 respectively and rank first to fifth.
 Among the considered sub-criteria, “low price of fossil fuels”
weighted 0.2973 and was identified as the most significant
obstacle facing the development of the solar energy sector
(Table 14) because Iran has massive fossil fuel reserves and its
economy is primarily based on crude oil.
 Considering the culture of the Iranian people who are conser-
vative and risk-averse, and because of the high risk of new
businesses and projects, they do not have enough ambition and
interest in starting new renewable energy projects. Hence, “lack
of ambition” is recognised as the least essential factor with a
weight of 0.0137 (Table 14).
Some suggestions for overcoming the obstacles facing solar
energy development are specified below:
 Broader participation in this field by facilitating government
support for private investment in this area.
 Fuel price adjustment
 Tax reduction or exemption
 Provision of financial facilities for the producers and consumers
of solar and other renewable energy
 Easy approval process concerning customs rules for obtaining a
business license
 Development and adoption of specific laws for guaranteed
purchase of electricity produced using renewable sources
 Facilitating government funds to provide low-interest facilities
to encourage investment
 Formulation and enforcement of energy consumption standards
in different sectors
 Improving the quality of domestic solar cell technology
 Development of quality standards for solar system equipment
 Implementation of pilot projects for the use of solar power in
different sectors
 Creating targeted training programs and university courses to
increase public awareness about the necessity and long-term
advantages of using clean energy including solar
7.1. Limitations of this study
This research evaluated the barriers of a middle east country
with many fossil reserves and high social and governmental
A. Mostafaeipour, M. Alvandimanesh, F. Najafi et al. Energy 226 (2021) 120355

resistance. Therefore, the results are not applicable for industrial

countries which are pioneers in renewable energy projects. Also,
the overall situation is continually changing and the results may be
not profitable in the future; because renewable energy usage is
quickly expanding around the globe.
7.2. Suggestions for future research
Similar studies can be performed concerning other parts of the
country to determine whether they face similar barriers to the
2 For the five categories of challenges in the development of solar
energy sector (technical, legal, economic, sociocultural, and
support), please rate the importance of the category you spec-
ified as the most important relative to other four categories
using the following terms: “equally important, slightly more
important, more important, much more important, and
extremely more important”.

Important Challenge Equally important Slightly more important More important Much more important Extremely more important
Technical
Legal
Economic
Sociocultural
Support

development of the solar energy sector. Also, similar studies can be

3. For the five categories of challenges in the development of solar
conducted for other renewable energy sources such as wind, hy-
energy sector (technical, legal, economic, sociocultural, and
droelectric, geothermal, and others. Futures studies can also
support), please rate the importance of each category relative to
expand the research by integrating the fuzzy BWM method with
the category you specified as the least important using the
other new MCDM methods.
following terms: “equally important, slightly more important,
more important, much more important, and extremely more
important”.

Least important Challenge Equally important Slightly more important More important Much more important Extremely more important
Technical
Legal
Economic
Sociocultural
Support

Declaration of competing interest

The authors declare that they have no known competing

financial interests or personal relationships that could have
appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
Appendix A. Supplementary data
Supplementary data to this article can be found online at
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2021.120355.
4. In your opinion, of the four subcategories of technical challenges
in the development of solar energy sector (poor technology,
shortage of manufacturers, poor quality of solar system equip-
ment, and inability to meet peak energy demand), which is the
most important and which is the least important for the
development of solar energy sector?

Appendix

Followings are the questionnaire provided for this research Challenge Important Least important
work:
Poor technology
Shortage of manufacturers
1. In your opinion, of the five categories of challenges in the devel- Poor quality of solar system equipment
opment of solar energy sector (technical, legal, economic, socio- Inability to meet peak energy demand
cultural, and support), which is the most important and which is
the least important for the development of solar energy sector?

5 For the four subcategories of technical challenges in the devel-

Challenge Important Least important opment of solar energy sector (poor technology, shortage of
Technical
Legal
manufacturers, poor quality of solar system equipment, and
Economic inability to meet peak energy demand), please rate the
Sociocultural
Support

17
A. Mostafaeipour, M. Alvandimanesh, F. Najafi et al. Energy 226 (2021) 120355

importance of the subcategory you specified as the most

important relative to other subcategories using the following 9. For the four subcategories of legal and infrastructural challenges
terms: “equally important, slightly more important, more in the development of solar energy sector (arduous and costly
important, much more important, and extremely more legislation process, bureaucratic barriers, lack of standards and
important”. organizational frameworks, and power storage limitations),

Important Challenge Equally important Slightly more important More important Much more important Extremely more important
Poor technology
Shortage of manufacturers
Poor quality of solar system equipment
Inability to meet peak energy demand

please rate the importance of the subcategory you specified as

7. For the four subcategories of technical challenges in the devel-
opment of solar energy sector (poor technology, shortage of
manufacturers, poor quality of solar system equipment, and
the most important relative to other subcategories using the
following terms: “equally important, slightly more important,
more important, much more important, and extremely more
important”.

Important Challenge Equally Slightly more More Much more Extremely more
important important important important important
Arduous and costly legislation process
Bureaucratic barriers
Lack of standards and organizational
frameworks
Power storage limitations

inability to meet peak energy demand), please rate the impor-

tance of each subcategory relative to the subcategory you
specified as the least important using the following terms:
“equally important, slightly more important, more important, 10. For the four subcategories of legal and infrastructural chal-
much more important, and extremely more important". lenges in the development of solar energy sector (arduous

Least important Challenge Equally important Slightly more important More important Much more important Extremely more important

Poor technology
Shortage of manufacturers
Poor quality of solar system equipment
Inability to meet peak energy demand

and costly legislation process, bureaucratic barriers, lack of

8. In your opinion, of the four subcategories of legal and infra-
structural challenges in the development of solar energy sector
(arduous and costly legislation process, bureaucratic barriers,
lack of standards and organizational frameworks, and power
storage limitations), which is the most important and which is
the least important for the development of solar energy sector?
standards and organizational frameworks, and power stor-
age limitations), please rate the importance of each subcat-
egory relative to the subcategory you specified as the least
important using the following terms: “equally important,
slightly more important, more important, much more
important, and extremely more important”.

Challenge Important Least important

Arduous and costly legislation process

Bureaucratic barriers
Lack of standards and organizational frameworks
Power storage limitations

18
A. Mostafaeipour, M. Alvandimanesh, F. Najafi et al. Energy 226 (2021) 120355

Least Challenge Equally Slightly more More Much more Extremely more
important important important important important important
Arduous and costly legislation process
Bureaucratic barriers
Lack of standards and organizational
frameworks
Power storage limitations

11. In your opinion, of the five subcategories of economic chal-

lenges in the development of solar energy sector (high in-
vestment risk, low fossil fuel price, lack of fund for
investment, and high investment and operations costs),
which is the most important and which is the least important
for the development of solar energy sector?
14. In your opinion, of the seven subcategories of sociocultural
challenges in the development of solar energy sector (lack of
ambition, low priority of efficiency in energy purchases, low
risk-taking, herd behavior, resistance to change or new par-
adigms, low public awareness, and low investment motiva-
tion), which is the most important and which is the least
important for the development of solar energy sector?

Challenge Important Least important

Challenge Important Least important
High investment risk
Low fossil fuel price Lack of ambition
Lack of fund for investment Low priority of efficiency in energy purchases
High investment and operations costs Low risk-taking
Herd behavior
Resistance to change or new paradigms
Low public awareness
Low investment motivation

12. For the five subcategories of economic challenges in the

development of solar energy sector (high investment risk,
low fossil fuel price, lack of fund for investment, and high
investment and operations costs), please rate the importance
of the subcategory you specified as the most important
relative to other subcategories using the following terms:
“equally important, slightly more important, more impor-
tant, much more important, and extremely more important”.
15. For the seven subcategories of sociocultural challenges in the
development of solar energy sector (lack of ambition, low
priority of efficiency in energy purchases, low risk-taking,
herd behavior, resistance to change or new paradigms, low
public awareness, and low investment motivation), please
rate the importance of the subcategory you specified as the

Important Challenge Equally important Slightly more important More important Much more important Extremely more important
High investment risk
Low fossil fuel price
Lack of fund for investment
High investment and operations costs

most important relative to other subcategories using the

following terms: “equally important, slightly more impor-
tant, more important, much more important, and extremely
13. For the five subcategories of economic challenges in the more important”.
development of solar energy sector (high investment risk,
low fossil fuel price, lack of fund for investment, and high
investment and operations costs), please rate the importance
of each subcategory relative to the subcategory you specified
as the least important using the following terms: “equally
important, slightly more important, more important, much
more important, and extremely more important”.

Least important Challenge Equally important Slightly more important More important Much more important Extremely more important
High investment risk
Low fossil fuel price
Lack of fund for investment
High investment and operations costs

19
A. Mostafaeipour, M. Alvandimanesh, F. Najafi et al. Energy 226 (2021) 120355

Important Challenge Equally important Slightly more important More important Much more important Extremely more important
Lack of ambition
Low priority of efficiency in energy purchases
Low risk-taking
Herd behavior
Resistance to change or new paradigms
Low public awareness
Low investment motivation

16. For the seven subcategories of sociocultural challenges in the

development of solar energy sector (lack of ambition, low
priority of efficiency in energy purchases, low risk-taking,
herd behavior, resistance to change or new paradigms, low
public awareness, and low investment motivation), please
rate the importance of each subcategory relative to the
subcategory you specified as the least important using the
following terms: “equally important, slightly more impor-
tant, more important, much more important, and extremely
more important”.
18. For the three subcategories of support-related challenges in
the development of solar energy sector (tax exemption, in-
ternational and national relations, and fossil fuels subsidies),
please rate the importance of the subcategory you specified
as the most important relative to other subcategories using
the following terms: “equally important, slightly more
important, more important, much more important, and
extremely more important”.

Least Challenge Equally Slightly more More Much more Extremely more
important important important important important important
Lack of ambition
Low priority of efficiency in energy
purchases
Low risk-taking
Herd behavior
Resistance to change or new paradigms
Low public awareness
Low investment motivation

Important Challenge Equally important Slightly more important More important Much more important Extremely more important
Tax exemption
International and national relations
Fossil fuels subsidies

17. In your opinion, of the three subcategories of support-related
challenges in the development of solar energy sector (tax
exemption, international and national relations, and fossil
fuels subsidies), which is the most important and which is
the least important for the development of solar energy
sector?
19. For the three subcategories of support-related challenges in
the development of solar energy sector (tax exemption, in-
ternational and national relations, and fossil fuels subsidies),
please rate the importance of each subcategory relative to
the subcategory you specified as the least important using
the following terms: “equally important, slightly more
important, more important, much more important, and
extremely more important”.

Challenge Important Least important

Tax exemption
International and national relations
Fossil fuels subsidies

Least important Challenge Equally important Slightly more important More important Much more important Extremely more important
Tax exemption
International and national relations
Fossil fuels subsidies

20
A. Mostafaeipour, M. Alvandimanesh, F. Najafi et al. Energy 226 (2021) 120355

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