This project is developing a new analytical tool that integrates energy and greenhouse
gas accounting, materials flow analysis accounting, and a Geographic Information System (GIS) to
provide a comprehensive analysis of alternative systems for optimizing bioenergy production. The
type, quantities and location of feedstock, energy recovery technologies, and the kind of energy being
produced can be evaluated against cost-effectiveness and environmental impact criteria. The goal is to
design a system that will optimize the use of biomass waste in both energy and P recovery, while
controlling Cd contamination of soils. In this paper, we describe an application of the modeling tool
described above to one of the largest agricultural regions in Australia, the Murrumbidgee Irrigation
Area. The scenario of installing the new bioenergy plants in the region yielded a number of benefits in
term of renewable energy production, GHG emission reduction, increasing P cycling into land and
reducing Cd contamination in to soil. However, it comes with the high cost of constructing a number
of bioenergy plants in the region.