Multi Criteria Decision Analysis Framework for Evaluating Tools Supporting Renewable Energy Communities

This study proposes a comprehensive key performance indicator–multi-criteria decision analysis framework to assess tools supporting renewable energy communities across six critical dimensions. Twenty three specific sub-criteria were defined and scored for each tools, and a weighted sum model was applied to aggregate performance. To ensure robust comparison, criteria weights were derived using both expert judgment (ranking and analytic hierarchy process pairwise comparisons) and objective data-driven methods (entropy-based and the criteria importance through intercriteria correlation weighting). The framework was applied to a diverse sample of contemporary renewable energy community’s tools, including open-source, commercial, and European Union project tools. Key findings indicate that part of tools showed noticeable rank shifts between expert-weighted and data-weighted evaluations, reflecting that expert opinions emphasize technical and operational features while objective variability elevates environmental and economic criteria. This assessment enables stakeholders to compare energy community tools based on structured criteria, offering practical guidance for tool selection and highlighting areas for future improvement.