Although there may be more than one option to develop a renewable energy project, your community should evaluate which one has the greatest chance of success and makes the best use of local resources.

The evaluation factors will depend on your community's priorities and may include:

• the availability of experienced or qualified people in the community to work on the project
• the length of time needed to design, construct and implement the project
• the project complexity and risk
• the site and equipment availability
• financing or funding requirements
• cash flow after construction
• other relevant factors.

You can use a number of different methods to rank your project options. These range from using a point system to decision making through consensus. There is no one single correct method. The point system is briefly described below.

 

Evaluating Options - The Point System

The following is a brief summary of how to evaluate options using the point system.

1. Rank proposed projects by giving points to each factor affecting the development of your project.
    
2. Weight each factor according to its importance. The project with the highest score is the option that moves forward.

Regardless of how you choose to evaluate your proposed project, you should ensure that your method is documented and applied consistently.
 

For larger projects and projects where there is no in-house expertise, your community may want to use the services of an expert to conduct a pre-feasibility study. This study will provide you with an estimate of the cost, timing and future benefits, usually within a certain range of error.
 

A pre-feasibility study is cheaper than a full feasibility study and you can use the information gathered to decide whether to proceed with a project.