Plant location selection
The study shows that pyrolysis-based electricity has a higher potential for both energy generation and carbon sequestration. The plant located is designed in southern Taiwan due to the consideration of the ease of land acquisition, crop density and labor costs. This selection depends solely on the cost-benefit analysis that minimizes the costs of plant construction and operation. In reality, the plant can be built in any region as long as the company can obtain the land and receive permission from the government. It is also possible to have multiple plants located in many places. Does the selection of every plant location minimize the total construction costs? The answer, likely, is no because concerns such as job opportunity, the unemployment rate and environmental effects make things more complex. The study focuses on the scientific approach, maximizing social welfare in terms of domestic renewable energy supply and GHG emission reduction. The government may focus on the reduction of the unemployment rate or efficient land utilization, which may be thought of as another form of social welfare maximization. For this reason, plant location could be selected under various considerations as long as the cost minimization is not the sole measure.