Demystifying sustainability challenges for the energy sector in developing economy

The accelerated standards of living and upsurge in population have made energy security the key priority for policymakers globally. This poses a major challenge for the energy sources which are traditionally fossil-based and non-renewable. The depletion of these fuel sources is posing a threat to decision-makers. India, as an emerging economy, has a favorable tropical climate, which will help in generating clean energy with renewable resources. However, there are many barriers to achieving sustainable clean energy. In this study, we have collected 113 barriers from the existing literature, which are a major challenge for implementing sustainable energy, for our evaluation. In this study, the Fuzzy Delphi method is used to attain justifiable and dependable attributes using qualitative information. According to the ranking given by the industry experts, major barriers are further transformed into a comparable scale and presented through qualitative information. The study demystified major challenges to sustainability in the energy sector, Political interference, High investments in transmission and distribution networks, Lack of flexible generation, Interprets intervention effects and time lags differently, and Lack of grid expansion. Policy formulation is recommended to mitigate the above stated impediments in sustainable energy adoption.