Development of decision support systems for bioenergy applications

As the amount and complexity of information relating to the development of bioenergy systems increases so does the problem of how to handle the information in a manner which is helpful for decision making. Hypertext-based information systems and decision support systems are being developed to aid deployment of bioenergy systems. These approaches are discussed with reference to a short rotation forestry production information system and decision support systems for harvesting wood for energy from conventional forestry and short rotation forestry. The development of a model which integrates biomass production, conversion and electricity generation is discussed. Problems encountered when combining different models into an integrated model are addressed.