Abstract Renewable energy plays a significant role in climate change mitigation and energy transition. China has established demonstration cities for energy transition and renewable energy development. However, the assessment system for these implementations is relatively blank. This study develops an index system to guide the construction of energy transition demonstration project and optimize energy transition development at the city level. The genetic algorithm-based analytic hierarchy process is employed to form energy transition strategies in the cities of Guiyang, Tongren, Zhangjiakou, and Nanning. The priority values of different renewable energy technologies are given for the cities. The results show that resource endowment is not the only driver for the priority due to the unique combination of influence factors in decision. The assessment system can help avoid the problems of single operating mode and over-investment in the process of energy transition so as to find the benchmark for energy structure adjustment. Finally, some policy recommendations are made for city-scale energy transition.