An analysis of the geographic distribution of energy crops and their potential for bioenergy production

• We calculated the potential production of five main non-food energy plants throughout China.
• We put forward a method that assesses the energy production potential on the same scale.
• We analyzed the spatial pattern of bio-energy enterprises in China.

China possesses substantial biomass resources, and the cultivation of energy plants on marginal land and the advancement of bioenergy may prove beneficial in easing fossil-fuel energy demands and promoting sustainable development of the economy and the environment. Taking into account the availability of marginal land and the distribution of environments suitable for the cultivation of energy crops, this study provides estimates of the potential bioenergy production for each of five species (Pistacia chinensis, Jatropha curcas, Manihot esculenta, Vernicia fordii and Helianthus tuberosus) and a geographic analysis of bioenergy enterprises in China. The results support the following conclusions: (1) the geographic distributions of potential bioenergy output of various energy crops have significant differences; (2) the central regions of China between Yunnan and Heilongjiang are suitable for the development of large- and medium-sized enterprises, whereas the area spanning northern Xinjiang, central Inner Mongolia, northern Yunnan, central Sichuan, eastern Guangdong and Hunan may support small-scale bioenergy enterprises; (3) the potential for development of bioenergy enterprises in China is enormous, the total number of bioenergy enterprises that are sustainable in China is 1788 (of which 490 are small-scale, 629 are medium-scale and 669 are large-scale operations); (4) the provinces with the greatest potential for the development of large-scale enterprises are Yunnan, Guizhou, Shaanxi, Hubei and Heilongjiang.