Abstract
The development and utilization of renewable energy is an important way to solve the environmental dilemma. Biomass energy is a kind of renewable energy and one of the most widely distributed and easily accessible energy forms. It has currently become a main direction of renewable energy development. This paper took Gansu Province of China as the research object to calculate its theoretical reserves of biomass energy resources and then evaluate its potential of biomass energy development by using TOPSIS method under different agricultural development and geographical environmental conditions. Spatial autocorrelation analysis was also performed to reveal the spatial distribution and temporal evolution of the potential of biomass energy development in Gansu Province. The results show that: (1) The total reserves of biomass energy resources from agricultural wastes in Gansu Province reach 7.28 × 107 t/year, with equivalent biogas production of about 1.95 × 1010 m3/year. (2) In most counties of Gansu Province, the Ci value is smaller than 0.5000, indicating that the potential of biomass energy development is relatively low in Gansu Province. (3) The spatial agglomeration of biomass energy development potential occurs mainly in the Hexi area, the Gannan area and the Loess Plateau area of East Gansu Province. (4) There is an area with obvious high-low (H-L) agglomeration of biomass energy development potential to the north-west side of the Gannan area with low-low (L-L) agglomeration of biomass energy development potential. It is a key zone to help drive biomass energy development in the Gannan area. (5) The spatial range of positive correlation (high-high and low-low agglomeration) areas shrunk during the evaluation period.
Highlights
The development and utilization of renewable energy is an important way to solve the environmental dilemma [1]
On the basis of the calculation of biomass energy resources, this paper considers, for the first time, the influence of agricultural development and geographical environmental factors on biomass
On the basis of the calculation of biomass energy resources, this paper considers, for the first time, the influence of agricultural development and geographical environmental factors on biomass energy development and evaluates the actual potential of biomass energy development in Gansu Province
Summary
The development and utilization of renewable energy is an important way to solve the environmental dilemma [1]. Biomass is almost the most important source of renewable energy in rural areas. Biomass energy has become a main direction of renewable energy development. Fuel wood from forestry residues plays an important role in the development of biomass energy in Europe. In Southeast Asia, especially Malaysia, oil palm waste is the most important source of biomass energy. It is estimated that Malaysia has the potential to generate around 15 billion m3 of biogas annually [15] and oil palm waste accounts for around 98.7% of total biomass energy potential in Sabah of Malaysia [16]. The total potential from crop residues (30%) and energy crops (70%) is equivalent to 1/4 of the total annual oil consumption of China [19]
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