Optimization of biomass energy production in a village

Abstract

An energy and resource-assessment survey of all the households in the village of Islamnagar in the Bhopal district (Central India) was used to compute the coefficients of a linear programming model of village agriculture. The model's objective function seeks to maximize biomass energy production through optimum selection of crop areas under two types of linear constraints. The first group of constraints defines resource limitations with regard to land, irrigation, fertilizer, labor, animal power, electricity and diesel fuel. The second group of constraints accounts for the minimum production requirements of food and feed needed to support the human and animal populations of the village and to maintain the present export levels. The model was run with three different scenarios, namely, base year (1981), increased Kharif season area, and increased Rabi season area. The base year biomass energy production of the village was 74% of the optimum value for the same cultivated area and supply levels of limiting material inputs. Biomass energy production and energy productivity of land indicated large potential increases by increasing cropping areas at the present supply levels of limiting material inputs. The model analysis showed that the under-utilized human and animal labor of the village could be employed to greater extents to realize the above potentials. The optimum selection of crop areas under all three scenarios indicated a positive effect on gross economic revenue from agriculture.