Abstract:

Choosing the enterprise’s location affects its future operation conditions, costs and effectiveness. The paper presents an original solution to the research problem of supporting biofuel production location selection decisions. The problem is especially important when facing a need to diversify energy production or to increase the use of biofuels. The key factors for biofuel production location planning have been identified and analysed. The paper presents the decision support methodology in terms of the location of biofuel production relying on dispersed biomass resources. It consists of three essential parts and it is based on the GIS and AHP method. Supporting the decisions on biofuel production location in a certain area should be directly related to the assessment of biomass resources available for such production. Furthermore, it should indicate rational location solutions considering the criteria affecting its effectiveness and support the choice of the best variant from the locations available. Finally, it supports selecting the best option for the biofuel production location. The application of the methodology develops the biofuel production management knowledge mostly in terms of supporting location decisions, representing the strategic decisions of each enterprise, optimization of supply logistics in supply chains and environmental management.