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.

Keywords

Agricultural land use; biofuel; climate policy; cost-effectiveness; localisation; spatial optimisation

Published in

European Review of Agricultural Economics
2022, volume: 49, number: 4, pages: 910-941

SLU Authors

• Nordin, Ida

  • Department of Economics, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

• Elofsson, Katarina

  • Department of Economics, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    
  • Aarhus University
  • Södertörn University

• Jansson, Torbjörn

  • Department of Economics, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

Global goals (SDG)

SDG7 Affordable and clean energy

UKÄ Subject classification

Economics

Publication identifier

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/erae/jbab043

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/114939