A Hybrid Fuzzy MCDM Approach for ESCO Selection

Abstract

In recent years, energy efficiency has become an important issue due to the growing energy demands of countries and firms. High costs of energy supplies and environmental issues are the main problems around the world and lead to a global effort for saving energy. Besides, there is a growing interest in providing energy services to achieve energy and environmental goals. Therefore, new companies called Energy Service Companies (ESCOs) providing energy services to energy users started to operate in the world market. In this context, it is important for the firms to choose the right Energy Service Company that will enable them to save energy and to assist in their energy efficiency projects. In this paper, a hybrid fuzzy Multi-Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM) approach is proposed for Energy Service Company selection process of a textile firm. This approach is based on fuzzy Stepwise Weight Assessment Ratio Analysis (SWARA) and fuzzy Measurement Alternatives and Ranking according to the Compromise Solution (MARCOS) methods. Firstly, the weights of decision criteria are determined by using fuzzy SWARA method. Later, Energy Service Company alternatives are evaluated with the help of fuzzy MARCOS method, and the best alternative for the textile firm is determined. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.