Deployment Feasibility as a Layered Construct: A Sequential Gate Framework for Evaluating Battery Dispatch Strategies in Distribution Grids

Conventional multi-criteria decision-making approaches for battery energy storage system (BESS) dispatch evaluation treat regulatory and policy conditions as compensable criteria within a single aggregate score. This becomes problematic when institutional admissibility functions as a prerequisite for deployment rather than a tradeable attribute. This study aims to develop and test a sequential gate framework. The methodological contribution lies in the evaluation architecture itself: the framework distinguishes sequential admissibility gating from conventional compensatory Multi-Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM). Deployment feasibility is conceptualized as a layered construct in which regulatory admissibility defines the feasible solution space and technical performance differentiates among admissible options. The framework integrates systematic literature screening, quantitative policy and regulatory assessment, and technical ranking using a hybrid Best-Worst Method, Entropy weighting, and TOPSIS approach. A Danish case study covering twelve dispatch strategies compares the proposed sequential design with two flat alternatives. The results show that the evaluation architecture materially affects outcomes: sequential gating excludes an institutionally incomplete strategy and reorders the upper tier by removing compensatory policy effects. Coordinated multi-BESS control at Electric Vehicle charging parks achieves the highest combined feasibility (closeness coefficient 0.891, ranked 1st), while mobile BESS is excluded by the admissibility gate. The sequential design reorders the upper tier relative to flat MCDM, with S4 and S6 rising and S2 and S10 falling once policy compensation is neutralized after the gate. The top-ranked strategy remains robust across sensitivity analysis, Monte Carlo simulation, score perturbation, and VIKOR cross-validation. The framework is presented as an analytical pre-simulation screening tool rather than a validated implementation instrument; external validation against real deployment outcomes is identified as a priority for future research. The framework provides a structured, decision-consistent approach for evaluating deployment feasibility in regulated energy systems.