Creative Commons

This dissertation was written as part of the MSc in in Environmental Management and Sustainability at the International Hellenic University. The aim of the master thesis is to examine the potentials of biomass production in the Region of Central Macedonia (RCM). For this reason, a model of Multi - Criteria Analysis (MCDA) with ELECTRE ΙΙΙ method is developed, with the construction of outranking relations. The aim is to compare in a comprehensive way each pair of action, in our case the regional units of the RCM , in order to satisfy the main goal which is to rank t he seven regional units as regards their biomass production. The final goal is to select the optimal crop plan between the seven regional units as a pilot case for biomass production. In the case of ELECTRE III multicriteria model, we used several conflicting criteria such as the farm income, the biomass production from crop residues, the variable costs, the production of thermal energy, the production of electrical energy, and finally thermal energy and electrical energy. Alongside a technical and economic analysis of the study area is conducted for the existent crop plans of each regional unit. The main findings of the master thesis are the biomass production for the seven regional units of the region of Central Macedonia and the optimal crop plan for producing biomass from agricultural residues. The results show that crop plans with cereals and arable crops have better results than crop plans with fruit trees and other crops.