Identification of Suitable Areas for Biomass Power Plant Construction through Environmental Impact Assessment of Forest Harvesting Residues Transportation
Maria Pergola,
Angelo Rita,
Alfonso Tortora,
Maria Castellaneta,
Marco Borghetti,
Antonio Sergio De Franchi,
Antonio Lapolla,
Nicola Moretti,
Giovanni Pecora,
Domenico Pierangeli,
Luigi Todaro,
Francesco Ripullone
Affiliations
Maria Pergola
Ages s.r.l. s—Academic Spin-off, University of Basilicata, Viale dell’Ateneo Lucano, 10-85100 Potenza, Italy
Angelo Rita
School of Agricultural, Forestry, Food and Environmental Sciences, University of Basilicata, viale dell’Ateneo Lucano, 10. I-85100 Potenza, Italy
Alfonso Tortora
School of Agricultural, Forestry, Food and Environmental Sciences, University of Basilicata, viale dell’Ateneo Lucano, 10. I-85100 Potenza, Italy
Maria Castellaneta
School of Agricultural, Forestry, Food and Environmental Sciences, University of Basilicata, viale dell’Ateneo Lucano, 10. I-85100 Potenza, Italy
Marco Borghetti
School of Agricultural, Forestry, Food and Environmental Sciences, University of Basilicata, viale dell’Ateneo Lucano, 10. I-85100 Potenza, Italy
Antonio Sergio De Franchi
School of Agricultural, Forestry, Food and Environmental Sciences, University of Basilicata, viale dell’Ateneo Lucano, 10. I-85100 Potenza, Italy
Antonio Lapolla
School of Agricultural, Forestry, Food and Environmental Sciences, University of Basilicata, viale dell’Ateneo Lucano, 10. I-85100 Potenza, Italy
Nicola Moretti
School of Agricultural, Forestry, Food and Environmental Sciences, University of Basilicata, viale dell’Ateneo Lucano, 10. I-85100 Potenza, Italy
Giovanni Pecora
School of Agricultural, Forestry, Food and Environmental Sciences, University of Basilicata, viale dell’Ateneo Lucano, 10. I-85100 Potenza, Italy
Domenico Pierangeli
School of Agricultural, Forestry, Food and Environmental Sciences, University of Basilicata, viale dell’Ateneo Lucano, 10. I-85100 Potenza, Italy
Luigi Todaro
School of Agricultural, Forestry, Food and Environmental Sciences, University of Basilicata, viale dell’Ateneo Lucano, 10. I-85100 Potenza, Italy
Francesco Ripullone
School of Agricultural, Forestry, Food and Environmental Sciences, University of Basilicata, viale dell’Ateneo Lucano, 10. I-85100 Potenza, Italy
In accordance with European objectives, the Basilicata region intends to promote the use of energy systems and heat generators powered by lignocellulosic biomass, so the present study aimed to investigate the availability of logging residues and most suitable areas for the construction of bioenergy production plants. The life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology was employed to conduct an environmental impact assessment of the biomass distribution and its transport, and spatial LCA was used to evaluate the impact of regional transport. One cubic meter kilometer (m3 km−1) was used as the functional unit and a small lorry was considered for the transport. The results showed that the available harvesting residues amounted to 36,000 m3 and their loading environmental impact accounted for 349 mPt m−3. The impacts of transport (4.01 mPt m−3) ranged from 3.4 to 144,400 mPt km−1 forest parcel−1, mainly affecting human health (95%) and, second, the ecosystem quality (5%). Three possible sites for bioenergy plant location were identified considering the environmental impact distribution due to feedstock transport. Findings from this research show the importance of considering the LCA of biomass acquisition in site selection and can fill the knowledge gaps in the available literature about spatial LCA.
