Optimal localisation of agricultural biofuel production facilities and feedstock: a Swedish case study

Abstract

Policies for investment in biofuel production facilities and feedstock may be necessary in order to meet climate and renewable energy targets. These policies entail a trade-off between high transportation costs of biomass and economies of scale of production facilities. We develop a spatial optimisation model and investigate the cost-effective localization of production facilities for ethanol from agricultural land in Sweden. Feedstock costs are found to be most important in determining the location, although high feedstock density motivates locating large facilities in areas with high feedstock costs. At higher production, feedstock from the whole country is preferred despite high transport costs.