In this study, sustainability ranking is done for four predominant non-combustible renewable energy sources i.e.,
wind, solar, geothermal, and hydro. There are various indicators used to assess power generation technologies.
They include price/cost of generated electricity, full lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions, availability of renewable
sources, energy conversion efficiency, land use requirements, water consumption and social and economic
impacts. The cost of electricity, greenhouse gas emissions and the efficiency of electricity generation have a wide
range for each technology option because of wide range of available technology options and varied geographical
dependence. The social impacts of energy sources are qualitatively based on the major individual impacts from
literature. Renewable energy technologies were then ranked against each indicator assuming that indicators have
equal importance for sustainable development. The study shows that wind power is the most sustainable, followed by hydropower, photovoltaic and then geothermal energy sources. However, wind has got higher land
requirements and relatively higher cost of generation.
Key words
Lifecycle analysis; sustainability, sustainable development; sustainable energy; renewable energy; energy
transitions