IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/renene/v260y2026ics0960148125027995.html

Regional efficiency of forest-based bioelectricity in Brazil: A DEA and jackstrap approach for low-carbon bioeconomy planning

Author

Listed:
  • Coelho Junior, Luiz Moreira
  • Araújo, Adriano Firmino Valdevino de
  • Nunes, Anna Manuella Melo
  • Fuinhas, José Alberto
  • Santos Júnior, Edvaldo Pereira

Abstract

Brazil is a global leader in forest biomass production, which plays a strategic role in its renewable energy matrix and low-carbon transition. Forest-based bioelectricity offers a decentralized and renewable energy alternative, yet its regional performance remains underexplored. This study evaluates the efficiency of forest-based bioelectricity generation across 48 Brazilian Intermediate Regions with thermoelectric plants that operate on wood biomass. We apply output-oriented Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) under both CCR and BCC models. To ensure robustness and mitigate the impact of outliers, we implement the jackstrap resampling method. The results reveal marked heterogeneity in technical and scale efficiency. Average naïve scores were 0.408 (CCR) and 0.519 (BCC), which dropped to 0.354 and 0.467 after robust correction, confirming the presence of overestimated efficiencies and influential DMUs. Benchmark networks constructed from DEA models highlight core regions such as Altamira, Bauru, and Rondonópolis that drive reference structures, while others exhibit structural inefficiencies or scale mismatches. These findings support targeted policy recommendations for infrastructure expansion, capacity optimization, and circular economy integration. The approach strengthens efficiency assessments for regional energy planning and offers transferable insights for biomass-based energy systems aligned with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs 7, 9, and 12).

Suggested Citation

  • Coelho Junior, Luiz Moreira & Araújo, Adriano Firmino Valdevino de & Nunes, Anna Manuella Melo & Fuinhas, José Alberto & Santos Júnior, Edvaldo Pereira, 2026. "Regional efficiency of forest-based bioelectricity in Brazil: A DEA and jackstrap approach for low-carbon bioeconomy planning," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 260(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:renene:v:260:y:2026:i:c:s0960148125027995
    DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2025.125135
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960148125027995
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.renene.2025.125135?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Julian Ramajo & Miguel A. Marquez & Geoffrey J. D. Hewings, 2021. "Addressing spatial dependence in technical efficiency estimation: A Spatial DEA frontier approach," Papers 2103.14063, arXiv.org.
    2. Boubaker, K., 2012. "A review on renewable energy conceptual perspectives in North Africa using a polynomial optimization scheme," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 16(6), pages 4298-4302.
    3. Timothy J. Coelli & D.S. Prasada Rao & Christopher J. O’Donnell & George E. Battese, 2005. "An Introduction to Efficiency and Productivity Analysis," Springer Books, Springer, edition 0, number 978-0-387-25895-9, March.
    4. Luiz Moreira Coelho Junior & Edvaldo Pereira Santos Júnior, 2022. "Space-Time Conglomerates Analysis of the Forest-Based Power Plants in Brazil (2000–2019)," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-12, June.
    5. Grigoroudis, Evangelos & Petridis, Konstantinos & Arabatzis, Garyfallos, 2014. "RDEA: A recursive DEA based algorithm for the optimal design of biomass supply chain networks," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 113-122.
    6. Hu, Jin-Li & Wang, Shih-Chuan, 2006. "Total-factor energy efficiency of regions in China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 34(17), pages 3206-3217, November.
    7. Léopold Simar, 2003. "Detecting Outliers in Frontier Models: A Simple Approach," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 20(3), pages 391-424, November.
    8. Jun-Der Leu & Wen-Hsien Tsai & Mei-Niang Fan & Sophia Chuang, 2020. "Benchmarking Sustainable Manufacturing: A DEA-Based Method and Application," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(22), pages 1-21, November.
    9. R. D. Banker & A. Charnes & W. W. Cooper, 1984. "Some Models for Estimating Technical and Scale Inefficiencies in Data Envelopment Analysis," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 30(9), pages 1078-1092, September.
    10. Abbas Mardani & Dalia Streimikiene & Tomas Balezentis & Muhamad Zameri Mat Saman & Khalil Md Nor & Seyed Meysam Khoshnava, 2018. "Data Envelopment Analysis in Energy and Environmental Economics: An Overview of the State-of-the-Art and Recent Development Trends," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(8), pages 1-21, August.
    11. Singh, Pritpal & Singh, Gurdeep & Gupta, Alok & Sodhi, Gurjinder Pal Singh, 2023. "Data envelopment analysis based energy optimization for improving energy efficiency in wheat established following rice residue management in rice-wheat cropping system," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 284(C).
    12. Flávio José Simioni & Juliana Ferreira Soares & Jeane de Almeida do Rosário & Luiza Garcia Sell & Eduardo Bertol & Fabio Murilo Padilha Souza & Edvaldo Pereira Santos Júnior & Luiz Moreira Coelho Juni, 2024. "Industrial Symbiosis and Circular Economy Practices Towards Sustainability in Forest-Based Clusters: Case Studies in Southern Brazil," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(21), pages 1-17, October.
    13. Charnes, A. & Cooper, W. W. & Rhodes, E., 1978. "Measuring the efficiency of decision making units," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 2(6), pages 429-444, November.
    14. Sueyoshi, Toshiyuki & Yuan, Yan & Goto, Mika, 2017. "A literature study for DEA applied to energy and environment," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 104-124.
    15. de Sousa, Maria da Conceição Sampaio & Cribari-Neto, Francisco & Stosic, Borko D., 2005. "Explaining DEA Technical Efficiency Scores in an Outlier Corrected Environment: The Case of Public Services in Brazilian Municipalities," Brazilian Review of Econometrics, Sociedade Brasileira de Econometria - SBE, vol. 25(2), November.
    16. Toklu, E., 2017. "Biomass energy potential and utilization in Turkey," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 235-244.
    17. Simar, Leopold & Wilson, Paul W., 2007. "Estimation and inference in two-stage, semi-parametric models of production processes," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 136(1), pages 31-64, January.
    18. Juliana Araújo Pereira & Flávio José Simioni & Juliana Ferreira Soares & Jeane de Almeida do Rosário & Eduardo Bertol & Fabio Murilo Padilha Souza & Luiz Moreira Coelho Junior, 2024. "Circular Economy Practices in Biomass-Fired Power Plants in Brazil: An Assessment Using the ReSOLVE Framework," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(21), pages 1-19, October.
    19. Zhou, D.Q. & Wu, F. & Zhou, X. & Zhou, P., 2016. "Output-specific energy efficiency assessment: A data envelopment analysis approach," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 177(C), pages 117-126.
    20. William W. Cooper & Lawrence M. Seiford & Joe Zhu, 2011. "Data Envelopment Analysis: History, Models, and Interpretations," International Series in Operations Research & Management Science, in: William W. Cooper & Lawrence M. Seiford & Joe Zhu (ed.), Handbook on Data Envelopment Analysis, chapter 0, pages 1-39, Springer.
    21. Santos Júnior, Edvaldo Pereira & Silva, Magno Vamberto Batista da & Simioni, Flávio José & Rotella Junior, Paulo & Menezes, Rômulo Simões Cezar & Coelho Junior, Luiz Moreira, 2022. "Location and concentration of the forest bioelectricity supply in Brazil: A space-time analysis," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 199(C), pages 710-719.
    22. Júlia Wahrlich & Flávio José Simioni, 2019. "Industrial symbiosis in the forestry sector: A case study in southern Brazil," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 23(6), pages 1470-1482, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Lucio Cecchini & Francesco Romagnoli & Massimo Chiorri & Biancamaria Torquati, 2023. "Eco-Efficiency and Its Determinants: The Case of the Italian Beef Cattle Sector," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-18, May.
    2. Yu, Dejian & He, Xiaorong, 2020. "A bibliometric study for DEA applied to energy efficiency: Trends and future challenges," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 268(C).
    3. Mergoni, Anna & Emrouznejad, Ali & De Witte, Kristof, 2025. "Fifty years of Data Envelopment Analysis," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 326(3), pages 389-412.
    4. Aneta Karasek & Barbara Fura & Magdalena Zajączkowska, 2023. "Assessment of Energy Efficiency in the European Union Countries in 2013 and 2020," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-20, February.
    5. Cayir Ervural, Beyzanur & Zaim, Selim & Delen, Dursun, 2018. "A two-stage analytical approach to assess sustainable energy efficiency," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 164(C), pages 822-836.
    6. Sala-Garrido, Ramon & Mocholi-Arce, Manuel & Maziotis, Alexandros & Molinos-Senante, María, 2023. "The carbon and production performance of water utilities: Evidence from the English and Welsh water industry," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 292-300.
    7. Lee, Boon L. & Wilson, Clevo & Simshauser, Paul & Majiwa, Eucabeth, 2021. "Deregulation, efficiency and policy determination: An analysis of Australia's electricity distribution sector," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    8. Franz R. Hahn, 2007. "Determinants of Bank Efficiency in Europe. Assessing Bank Performance Across Markets," WIFO Studies, WIFO, number 31499.
    9. Pontus Mattsson & Jonas Månsson & Christian Andersson & Fredrik Bonander, 2018. "Correction to: A bootstrapped Malmquist index applied to Swedish district courts," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 46(1), pages 141-142, August.
    10. Wang, Zehui & Xie, Jianhui, 2025. "Water constraint mitigation and agricultural productivity: Evidence from the China’s South-to-North Water Diversion Project," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 314(C).
    11. Santos, Joana & Simões, Pedro & Costa, Álvaro & Cunha Marques, Rui, 2010. "Efficiency of the Portuguese metros. is it different from other European metros?," MPRA Paper 34904, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    12. Kristof De Witte & Rui Marques, 2010. "Designing performance incentives, an international benchmark study in the water sector," Central European Journal of Operations Research, Springer;Slovak Society for Operations Research;Hungarian Operational Research Society;Czech Society for Operations Research;Österr. Gesellschaft für Operations Research (ÖGOR);Slovenian Society Informatika - Section for Operational Research;Croatian Operational Research Society, vol. 18(2), pages 189-220, June.
    13. Nadimi, Reza & Tokimatsu, Koji, 2019. "Potential energy saving via overall efficiency relying on quality of life," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 233, pages 283-299.
    14. Vittadini, Giorgio & Sturaro, Caterina & Folloni, Giuseppe, 2022. "Non-Cognitive Skills and Cognitive Skills to measure school efficiency," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    15. Wijesiri, Mahinda & Yaron, Jacob & Meoli, Michele, 2017. "Assessing the financial and outreach efficiency of microfinance institutions: Do age and size matter?," Journal of Multinational Financial Management, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 63-76.
    16. Thanh Ngo & Kan Wai Hong Tsui, 2022. "Estimating the confidence intervals for DEA efficiency scores of Asia-Pacific airlines," Operational Research, Springer, vol. 22(4), pages 3411-3434, September.
    17. Sickles, Robin C. & Song, Wonho & Zelenyuk, Valentin, 2018. "Econometric Analysis of Productivity: Theory and Implementation in R," Working Papers 18-008, Rice University, Department of Economics.
    18. Milad Kolagar & Seyed Mohammad Hassan Hosseini & Ramin Felegari & Parviz Fattahi, 2020. "Policy-making for renewable energy sources in search of sustainable development: a hybrid DEA-FBWM approach," Environment Systems and Decisions, Springer, vol. 40(4), pages 485-509, December.
    19. Jindal, Abhinav & Nilakantan, Rahul, 2021. "Falling efficiency levels of Indian coal-fired power plants: A slacks-based analysis," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).
    20. Veronese da Silva, Aline & Costa, Marcelo Azevedo & Lopes-Ahn, Ana Lúcia, 2022. "Accounting multiple environmental variables in DEA energy transmission benchmarking modelling: The 2019 Brazilian case," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:renene:v:260:y:2026:i:c:s0960148125027995. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/renewable-energy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.