An Assessment of Biomass Supply Chain: A DEA Application

Abstract

Renewable energy generation reduces carbon emissions and responds to the targets for renewable energy sources of most EU countries; it also enhances infrastructure resilience and creates flexibility of the energy matrix. However, the availability of biomass may drastically differ from country to country within the EU. In most cases, the most challenged countries to achieve high targets for sustainability are not those with a sufficiently large supply of biomass. Because of this, it is necessary to design new biomass supply chain networks and improve the existing networks. This paper aims to assess the efficiency of biomass alternative pathways of the supply network from South America to Europe. In this particular work, three scenarios of biomass using two transportation systems were investigated, i.e., transportation of wood logs, pellets and torrefied biomass in the country of origin by truck and train transportation. Efficiency was measured using a data envelopment analysis (DEA) model derived from CCR. The results present the most efficient supply chain alternatives and highlight the feasibility of establishing closer cooperation between Brazil and countries in Europe for green energy generation. This information can assist in the process of planning and decision-making to determine the practicability of the implementation of torrefaction facilities using the most efficient logistical pathways