A spatially explicit techno-economic model of bioenergy and biofuels production in California

This study presents a spatially explicit techno-economic Bioenergy Siting Model (BSM) of the bioenergy production system in California. The model describes the bioenergy system in terms of facility siting and size, conversion technology, feedstock profile, and feedstock supply chain configuration for the year 2015. The BSM expands upon previous bioenergy siting work by optimizing the system using spatially explicit feedstock supply curves, multiple potential conversion technologies and geographically determined bioenergy demand. We present sensitivity analysis demonstrating the effect of market and policy change scenarios. The model couples transportation network analysis using a Geographic Information System (GIS) with a mixed integer-linear programming (MIP) optimization model. Scenario results show total biomass resource utilization between 18 and 25 million dry tons annually at biofuel prices from $2.20 to $4.00/gallon of gasoline equivalent.