Towards a Renewable Energy Decision Making Model

This paper presents the Renewable Energy Decision Making Model, and applies it to a case study of a Hydrogen Bus Fleet. The model intends to aid users who are planning small scale renewable energy projects during the decision making phase in order to identify if the entire lifecycle of the project is sustainable economically, environmentally and socially. This Renewable Energy Decision Making Model incorporates the Triple Bottom Line approach utilizing a combination of three different analyses: After Tax Analysis, Streamlined Life Cycle Analysis, and Stakeholder Analysis. The results of the model are beneficial to decision makers in that they will show the level of sustainability by indicating negative or positive impacts of a proposed renewable project. Further, it allows for alterations to the design, during the planning phase to improve the sustainability of the project.