Bioenergy systems planning using location–allocation and landscape ecology design principles

Rural energy planning is a nexus of sustainable development issues, particularly the sustainable utilization of biomass resources, on which rural parts of the developing world remain critically dependent. A landscape based rural bioenergy planning framework is presented, which is based on location–allocation and landscape ecology principles and considers both domestic and commercial energy demands and energy flows, as well as the landscape impact of the required bioenergy production zones. p-median modelling principles underlie the location–allocation formulation. Optimized bioenergy landscape designs are presented, which illustrate both accessibility and landscape ecology objectives.