Application of fuzzy analytic hierarchy process to select the optimal heating facility for Korean horticulture and stockbreeding sectors

The horticulture and stockbreeding sectors are the highest energy consumers in the Korean agriculture industry. Reducing this consumption would be useful given that non-renewable resources account for 70.3% of the source of this energy. We apply the fuzzy analytic hierarchy process with the benefits, opportunities, costs, and risks (BOCR) approach to select an optimal heating facility for the horticulture and stockbreeding sectors in Korea. We set 11 factors based on the BOCR approach and evaluate six heating options that use either fossil fuels or renewable energy (oil-fired boiler, coal-fired boiler, electricity heater, geothermal heat pump, aero-thermal heat pump, and wood pallet-fired boiler). From the energy and agricultural experts׳ perspectives, the geothermal heat pump is selected as the most appropriate heating source. While it requires the highest initial investment cost of all the options, the geothermal heat pump earned high scores on most other factors. Moreover, the aero-thermal heat pump and the wood pallet-fired boiler, which run on renewable energy, also scored relatively well. However, the oil-fired boiler, which currently has the predominant share of heating facilities in these sectors, ranked the lowest. The results show that the Korean government׳s energy policies regarding the agriculture industry have resulted in a distorted resource allocation. Thus, it would be prudent to phase out the tax exemption on petroleum products and discounts on electricity provided to this industry.