A Spatial Decision Support System Framework for the Evaluation of Biomass Energy Production Locations: Case Study in the Regional Unit of Drama, Greece

Konstantinos Ioannou, Georgios Tsantopoulos, Garyfallos Arabatzis, Zacharoula Andreopoulou and Eleni Zafeiriou
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Konstantinos Ioannou: Hellenic Agricultural Organization “DEMETER”, Forest Research Institute, Vasilika, Thessaloniki 57006, Greece
Georgios Tsantopoulos: Department of Forestry and Management of the Environment and Natural Resources, Democritus University of Thrace, Pantazidou 193, Orestiada 68200, Greece
Garyfallos Arabatzis: Department of Forestry and Management of the Environment and Natural Resources, Democritus University of Thrace, Pantazidou 193, Orestiada 68200, Greece
Zacharoula Andreopoulou: Department of Forestry and Natural Environment, Lab. Of Forest Informatics, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, POBOX 247, Thessaloniki 54124, Greece
Eleni Zafeiriou: Department of Agricultural Development, Democritus University of Thrace, Pantazidou 193, Orestiada 68200, Greece

Sustainability, 2018, vol. 10, issue 2, 1-22

Abstract: Renewable Energy Sources are expected to play a very important role in energy production in the following years. They constitute an energy production methodology which, if properly enabled, can ensure energy sufficiency as well as the protection of the environment. Energy production from biomass in particular is a very common method, which exploits a variety of resources (wood and wood waste, agricultural crops and their by-products after cultivation, animal wastes, Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) and food processing wastes) for the production of energy. This paper presents a Spatial Decision Support System, which enables managers to locate the most suitable areas for biomass power plant installation. For doing this, fuzzy logic and fuzzy membership functions are used for the creation of criteria layers and suitability maps. In this paper, we use a Multicriteria Decision Analysis methodology (Analytical Hierarchy Process) combined with fuzzy system elements for the determination of the weight coefficients of the participating criteria. Then, based on the combination of fuzzy logic and theAnalytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), a final proposal is created thatdivides the area into four categories regarding their suitability forsupporting a biomass energy production power plant. For the two optimal locations, the biomass is also calculated.The framework is applied to theRegional Unit of Drama, which is situated in Northern Greece and is very well known for the area’s forest and agricultural production.

Keywords: fuzzy logic; AHP; biomass; Greece; land suitability (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (19)

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