Food and bioenergy: capturing the synergies and conflicts in the design of value chains through spatio-temporal multi-objective optimisation

An MILP model was developed for biomass value chains that can maximise synergies and minimise conflicts within the food-energy-water-environment nexus. The model accounts for the spatial dependencies of the system, at a 50 km level, with a long planning horizon from 2010 to 2050 with seasonal time steps. A scenario was presented in which the model was used to examine competition between food and energy for arable land in the UK. Results suggest that the demands for food can be met along with 10% of total energy demands from bioenergy but food production must move to different locations to make way for bioenergy.