Citation: Nuriyev, M.; Mammadov, J.; Nuriyev, A.; Mammadov, J. Selection of Renewables for Economic Regions with Diverse Conditions: The Case of Azerbaijan. Sustainability 2022, 14, 12548. https://doi.org/10.3390/ su141912548 Academic Editors: Erol Kurt, Jose Manuel Lopez-Guede and Grigorios L. Kyriakopoulos Received: 31 August 2022 Accepted: 29 September 2022 Published: 2 October 2022 Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affil- iations. Copyright: © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/). sustainability Article Selection of Renewables for Economic Regions with Diverse Conditions: The Case of Azerbaijan Mahammad Nuriyev 1 , Jeyhun Mammadov 1, * , Aziz Nuriyev 2 and Joshgun Mammadov 1 1 Department of Economics and Management, Khazar University, 41 Mahsati Str., Baku AZ1096, Azerbaijan 2 Joint MBA Program, Azerbaijan State Oil and Industrial University, 20 Azadliq Ave., Baku AZ1010, Azerbaijan * Correspondence: jmammadov@khazar.org Abstract: The objective of this paper is to study the specifics of the selection of renewables for regions of Azerbaijan with diverse conditions. Information is obtained through the analysis of the regions’ conditions and experts’ opinions. Analysis reveals that geographical position, diversity of natural resources, and a variety of other factors of the five economic regions of the country require subdivision of these regions in the selection of renewables. Given that the selection of renewables is a multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) task under a high degree of uncertainty, Z-number-based models have been developed, and Z-extension of the Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) method has been used. Solutions have been derived based on direct calculations with Z-numbers. In this paper, results obtained for two regions are presented. In the case of one region, for the first part (mountains and foothill) of the Karabakh economic region, renewables are ranked as hydro, solar, and wind. For the second part (plain), the ranking is as follows: solar, hydro, and wind. For the Guba-Khachmaz economic region, the rankings of renewables for parts of the region are also different: the wind is preferable for the seaside, and solar is more appropriate for the foothills. Results show that in the case of uneven distribution of renewables and significant differences in factors influencing decision-making, it is necessary to subdivide economic regions and use different models for the selection of renewables. Keywords: renewables selection; diverse conditions; Z-numbers; direct calculations; Z-TOPSIS 1. Introduction Countries are developing and implementing long-term plans for the gradual replace- ment of the environmentally unfriendly fossil energy resources. Differences in geographical position, diversity of the natural and economic conditions, and uneven distributions of the resources within the countries and regions require the application of different approaches for the development of renewables in various economic regions. Azerbaijan is endowed with rich natural resources. The share of oil-gas sector in the GDP is 37 percent, which has decreased significantly from 56 percent in 2006 (when oil rent as a percent of GDP was 39.7 percent), due to reforms on economic diversification [1–3]. On the way to achieving sustainable development, shifting from non-renewable energy to renewable energy is dispensable. Azerbaijan has nine climatic zones, and its nature is represented by mountains and foothill zones, plains, semi-deserts, sub-tropics, and seaside areas. The potential of economically viable and technically feasible renewable energy sources of Azerbaijan is estimated at 27,000 MW, including 3000 MW of wind energy, 23,000 MW of solar energy, 380 MW of bioenergy potential, and 520 MW of mountain rivers [4]. Currently, total energy supply is 17,566,600 TOE. The shares of renewable energy supplies of hydropower, biomass, wind power, and solar (photovoltaic) power in total energy consumption are 0.6 percent, 0.6 percent, 0.1 percent, and 0.03 percent, respectively [2]. Potential utilization of rich renewable energy resources of Azerbaijan requires proper evaluation and investment analysis of its economic regions. Therefore, Sustainability 2022, 14, 12548. https://doi.org/10.3390/su141912548 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/sustainability