Identification of Energy Hubs for the Exploitation of Residual Biomass in an Area of Western Sicily

Abstract

Recent years have witnessed a marked reduction in financial incentives for renewable energy production in Italy as a consequence of the fact that the nation has already reached its energy policy targets for 2020, However, incentives still persist in certain sectors, such as those of specialized crops for biomass and residual biomass. In order to increase use-efficiency of biomass resources, careful study is needed of their characteristics, and their distribution within an area and over time: biomass use is of interest when production is concentrated in a given area and sufficiently available throughout the year. In order to assess the competitiveness of the biomass energy sector, the logistics, organization and the financial aspects of the sector must be analysed on a large scale using land planning tools, such as land informational systems (LIS).This study represents a methodical approach to the development and application of a model of analysis focusing on the identification of possible hubs for the energy exploitation of residual biomass from crops grown in Western Sicily.