Today, Renewable Energy Sources (RES) are a key pillar to achieving sustainable development, which is the main reason why energy projects are being carried out not only in developed countries but also in many emerging countries. Since the technical and financial risk remains a major barrier to financing renewable energy projects, several mechanisms are available to reduce risks on investment into clean energy projects. This paper discusses risk management tools in solar photovoltaic facilities based on the guide to the Project Management (PMBOK Guide). To do this, a combination of different decision-making methodologies will be carried out. These methodologies enable to not only extract the knowledge by experts but also to know the causes and effects that help to make the best decision. In order to do so, techniques to seek information (Delphi and Checklist) as well as diagram techniques such as cause and effect diagrams or Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) are applied. The categorization and prioritization of risks will be carried out through the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). Finally, a sensitivity analysis will allow for providing consistency to the obtained results. A real case in the Dominican Republic will also be presented as case study.

The diverse socio-economic and environmental impacts related to the setup of a new photovoltaic installation must be weighed carefully in order to reach the best possible solution. Among the different photovoltaic systems, there are several classification criteria, depending on the technology, application, and size of the modules that define them. The size (installed nominal capacity) stands out as an impartial and critical measure in the decision-making process. In this article, we use a multi-criteria decision-making method to analyze the responses of five experts to a detailed questionnaire in which several different criteria are correlated with various photovoltaic installation sizes. The limitation associated with a low number of experts is addressed with a robustness and sensitivity analysis. With this study, we seek first to apply and demonstrate the feasibility of a methodology that combines technical information with multi-criteria decision-making methods. Second, we obtain a clear result that increases the benefits of a forthcoming photovoltaic installation of modules in distributed generation, adding up to one GW total peak power in standard conditions. We observe a consistent result in which smaller photovoltaic modules provide the ideal solution, as this format maximizes the socio-economic benefits of any installation. If a decision has to be taken about the type of photovoltaic plant to be installed, the conclusion is clear: given a certain size, small, easily scalable installations are the best solution for stakeholders, the inhabitants, and the environment.

The diverse socio-economic and environmental impacts that the set-up of a new photovoltaic installation has must be weighed carefully in order to reach the best possible solution. Among the different photovoltaic systems there are several classification criteria, depending on the technology, application and the size of the modules that define them. The size (installed nominal capacity) stands out as an impartial and critical measure in the decision making process. In this article we use a multi-criteria decision making method to analyse the responses of five experts to a detailed questionnaire in which several different criteria are correlated with various photovoltaic installation sizes. The limitation associated to the low number of experts is addressed with a robustness and sensitivity analysis. With this study we seek first, to apply and demonstrate the feasibility of a methodology which combines technical information with multi-criteria decision making methods, and second, to obtain a clear result oriented that increases the benefits of a forthcoming photovoltaic installation of modules in distributed generation adding up to 1GW total peak power in standard conditions. We observe a consistent result in which smaller photovoltaic modules are the ideal solution that maximises the socio-economic benefits of any installation. If a decision has to be taken about the type of photovoltaic plant to be installed, the conclusion is clear: given a certain size, small, easily scalable installations are the best solution for stake-holders, for the inhabitants, and for the environment.

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