Biomass and Bioenergy 165 (2022) 106580

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Biomass and Bioenergy

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/biombioe

A fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process based analysis for prioritization of

enablers to pine briquettes based energy generation in alignment with the
United Nations’ sustainable development goals: Evidence from India
Anita Sengar a, *, Vinay Sharma b, Kapil Joshi b, Rajat Agrawal b, Alka Dwivedi a,
Prasoom Dwivedi a, Pankaj Kumar Sharma c, Gaurav dixit b, Gajendra Goswami b,
Mohit Barthwal b
a
School of Business, University of Petroleum & Energy Studies, Dehradun, India
b
Department of Management Studies, Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee, India
c
School of Engineering, University of Petroleum & Energy Studies, Dehradun, India

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: Pine needles are a major cause of forest fires in the western region of the Himalayas in India. There is a need to
Dried pine needle explore avenues for utilizing this forest bio residue. Pine needles in the form of briquettes are an important
Energy generation source of renewable energy as it has low carbon emissions, low-cost technological interventions, easy accessi­
Sustainable energy
bility and direct community benefits. The purpose of this paper is to list, classify and rank the enablers sup­
Enablers
Fuzzy AHP
porting energy generation using briquettes made from dried pine needles. This study ranks the enablers by using
India the fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process which is a multi-criteria decision-making approach. This paper finds that
SDG technological enablers are key to such interventions using dried and fallen pine needles for energy generation.
The second category is environment-related enablers that directly impact the environment, followed by the
market-related factors including good demand for the bio briquettes by the industry, viable fuel linkage, and a
sense of business approach among the main actors. Economic enablers are next in importance, including factors
such as employment generation, additional income, and self-sufficiency making such initiatives attractive
enough to be adopted by people. Government and lastly, social and community-related enablers are next in
priority for such projects. This is the first research that recognized, classified as well as ranked these enablers to
pine needle-based energy generation in Uttarakhand in achieving United Nations’ Sustainable Development
Goals for 2030 such as climate action and affordable and clean energy.

1. Introduction
Forest bio residue has not been one of the mainstream modes of
renewable energy generation, despite its abundance, easy accessibility,
comparatively low carbon emissions, and the requirement of low-cost
technological interventions. It has direct community benefits and a
long list of comparative advantages over several other modes of energy
generation.
Pine needle is a form of forest-bio-residue of the Chir pine tree (Pinus
roxburghii Sarg). It grows in the states of Uttarakhand, Himachal Pra­
desh, Jammu and Kashmir, West Bengal in India and other neighbouring
Himalayan nations. As per the Forest Survey of India (2019) report,
Uttarakhand has the highest percentage of chir pine forest cover [1]. In
the eastern Himalayan range, chir pine rarely grows beyond 1000 m
above sea level, while in the western Himalayas, it grows between 450
and 1800 m above sea level [2,3].
Pine needles are a form of forest-bio-residue having all the charac­
teristics of being seen as an important source of renewable energy [4],
especially in the western region of the Himalayas in India (refer to Fig. 1,
Fig. 2). It must be addressed as a resource because it is highly inflam­
mable and a destructive source of engulfing fires and carbon emissions
apart from the huge damage it causes every year [5] (refer to Fig. 3). As

* Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: Anita.sengar@gmail.com (A. Sengar), vinay.sharma@ms.iitr.ac.in (V. Sharma), kapilkjoshi@rediffmail.com (K. Joshi), rajat@ms.iitr.ac.in
(R. Agrawal), adwivedi@ddn.upes.ac.in (A. Dwivedi), pdwivedi@ddn.upes.ac.in (P. Dwivedi), pankjpme@ddn.upes.ac.in (P. Kumar Sharma), gauravdixit.fdm@
iitr.ac.in (G. dixit), gauravdixit.fdm@iitr.ac.in (G. Goswami), barthwalmohit1@gmail.com (M. Barthwal).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biombioe.2022.106580
Received 15 September 2021; Received in revised form 12 July 2022; Accepted 23 August 2022
0961-9534/© 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
A. Sengar et al.
per Uttarakhand Forest Department data [6], pine trees range across half
a million hectares of the forest area in the state. In 2019, forest fires due
to pine residue affected 1244.64 ha of forest. It adds nearly 500 million
kilograms of CO2 every year into Uttarakhand’s atmosphere [7].
There is an urgent need to explore avenues for using this forest bio
residue to support affordable and clean energy, and climate action as
indicated in the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals for
2030. It is not just the comparative cost-benefit perspective, which
should be the economic reason for pine needle being used as a resource,
it includes long-term benefits, which will be complementary to several
efforts made concerning climate change mitigation, alternative and
renewable energy [10], reverse migration [11], and structured agri­
culture related to medicinal and aromatic plants [12,13].
The paper is based on a practical sponsored experimental research
project wherein the research team developed the technology to convert
pine needles into briquettes and longitudinally has been studying the
related aspects [14]. This empirical work aims to review the evidence of
enablers supporting energy generation using dries and fallen pine nee­
dles, their classification, and prioritization in the state of Uttarakhand in
India. Specifically, the following issues in the form of these research
questions are addressed:
RQ1.What are the potential enablers to pine briquette-based energy
generation in India?
RQ2. How these enablers be prioritized and categorized from a
Fig. 1. Study area map [8].
2
Biomass and Bioenergy 165 (2022) 106580
strategy perspective?
RQ3. How shall the government accord priority support to energy
generation using pine needles to check forest fires in India?
To identify all the enablers to energy generation using briquettes
made from dried pine leaves, an exhaustive and extensive review of the
literature was done. Five focused group discussions (FGDs) were orga­
nized with people, including professors from reputed universities, forest
officers and the villagers from the northwestern Himalayas where pine
trees exist. This helped the researcher in finalizing the list of enablers.
The fuzzy AHP technique was used to assign weights to these enablers
for ranking them based on their importance. Multi-criteria decision-
making (MCDM) method makes a pairwise comparison of these enablers
and defines their comparative position for ranking them and their sub-
factors by using qualitative and quantitative methods. The fuzzy AHP
technique permits uncertainty and fuzziness in the decision-making
process, making it suitable for many real-life applications.
This is the first research that recognized, classified as well as ranked
these enablers to pine needle-based energy generation in Uttarakhand to
support climate action, and affordable and clean energy as indicated in
the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals for 2030. Addi­
tionally, it is among the first to use fuzzy AHP to rank enablers and apply
sensitivity analysis for robustness checks. Pine needle-based renewable
energy generation proposes an opportunity to achieve many other sus­
tainable development goals such as no poverty, gender equality, and
A. Sengar et al.
reduced inequalities.
The organization of the paper is as follows: Second section includes a
review of the literature on the factors supporting energy generation
using briquettes made from pine needles. Section 3 discusses the
research methodology involved and a brief explanation of the AHP
method with fuzzy logic. Section 4 highlights the discussion and key
results. In section 5, sensitivity analysis was incorporated to check the
technique’s robustness, followed by sections 6 and 7, where conclusions,
implications and limitations are summarized.
2. Material and methods
2.1. Identification of enablers for pine leaves-based energy generation in
Uttarakhand, India
An exhaustive literature review was done using different sources
such as government reports, and research journals to identify enabling
factors for energy generation using briquettes made from dried and
fallen Pine leaves. Five FGDs were conducted with participants
including senior professors from reputed Universities, forest officers and
villagers belonging to the pine forests. Based on their inputs, forty fac­
tors were finalized. They were categorized into six categories: technol­
ogy, environment, economic, government and institutions, and social
and market-related enablers. The list of enabler categories and their
subcategories are mentioned in Table 1, and their detailed description is
given in the following section:
2.1.1. Technology-related enabler (TG)
Briquettes made from dried pine needle is one of the sources of en­
ergy generation (Fig. 4). The bio-residue briquetting process is techni­
cally easy and very reasonable. It includes non-monotonous, least
specialized and simple activities that could be easily performed even by
women [4].
It is a manually operated, portable bio-briquetting machine that runs
on Pascal’s fundamentals and can produce pressure up to 10 Ton. The
machine is purely indigenous and requires basic equipment for its
fabrication. The machine can produce one briquette of 25 g at a time and
can produce up to 3 Kg per hour.
This process has a low maintenance cost because there are no elec­
trical gear and other electrical components. Manually operated bio
briquetting machine has benefits such as less maintenance, easy trans­
portation, low operating time, low cost and multiple uses. Such ma­
chines are multipurpose as they could work on the fastener technique
Fig. 2. Uttarakhand’s Pine forest cover.
3
Biomass and Bioenergy 165 (2022) 106580
and might utilize any type of bio buildup to make briquettes [4,15,16].
Low-cost technology has a scope of improvisation and household-level
customization to develop new forms of existing products and produce
new products as well [17]. Awareness among local people regarding the
environmental friendliness of the technology and machinery used for
pine-based energy generation is another enabling factor.
2.1.2. Environment-related enabler (EV)
Most of the people in rural areas still depend on fuel wood/coal to
satiate their daily energy needs. Fuel - wood not only puts a burden on
the forest but is a source of emission of various harmful gases and smoke
in the atmosphere. Forest bio-residue-based fuel in the form of pine
briquettes has a calorific value comparable to that of wood and lower-
grade coal and is a comparatively cleaner fuel than the other two in
terms of emission. The abundance of pine needles and the adoption of
low-cost technology ensures the affordability of the fuel in the region.
The produced pine briquettes is utilized primarily for meeting their
household requirement (i.e., cooking and heating). The pine briquettes
are more efficient when compared to traditionally used firewood and
coal as fuel. Biomass is inherently carbon neutral and therefore a source
of renewable energy. Published studies presume carbon neutrality of
biofuels in either of two approaches: implicit sequestration credit or
explicit sequestration credit. Most studies apply the former approach,
simply ignoring the CO2 flux within a biofuel [52], presuming that ‘CO2
in equals CO2 out’, so using a net flux of zero. Others, such as [53], use
the latter approach, offsetting biomass-combustion CO2 emissions with
a sequestration credit that is nearly equal to the combustion emission.
Either way, the biomass combustion footprint is zero or close to it, i.e.
carbon neutral.
One of the environment-related enablers is the impetus toward en­
ergy security and climate change. Energy security refers to being made
sure about the flexibility of energy with no interruption, and environ­
mental change moderation is one of the significant main thrusts behind
the developing interest in renewable energy. The results of quickly rising
worldwide temperatures will be broad and destroying for people and the
earth except if the dire move is made universally to control emanations
[5,18].
Another driving force for this initiative is to provide safety to nearby
broadleaf forests, and other vegetation from forest fires and provide
them scope to rejuvenate. Dried pine needles are highly flammable and
add nearly 500 million kilograms of CO2 every year into the atmosphere
of Uttarakhand [7]. This initiative may reduce the discharge of Green­
house gases and benefit people residing in the surrounding areas in
A. Sengar et al.
terms of their health because of the reduction of harmful gas from the
other traditionally available source of energy like coal and wood [15,
16].
Addressing environmental issues like soil degradation, and wildlife
extinction due to forest fires, especially crown fire, which is most
dangerous for biodiversity, is another enabler for utilizing pine needles
for energy generation [19]. Pine briquettes are greener and
environment-friendly energy substitutes for wood and coal. It is a
thermal concept as it can be used for both household and commercial
purposes for cooking using stoves.
2.1.3. Economic enabler (EN)
Economic enablers are another driving force behind pine briquettes-
based energy generation. Villages situated in the northwestern Hima­
layas have lesser avenues of employment and revenue generation. This
initiative may provide a financial advantage to the residents of these
villages close to chir pine forest. Gathering the biomass from the forests
and afterwards changing over the equivalent into briquettes helps
generate additional income and make people self-sufficient; however, it
will also contribute to controlling forest fires in these regions (Fig. 5)
[15,16].
Pine needles are available in abundance in the forests of north­
western Himalayas to ensure the sustainable supply of pine briquette
manufacturing. It is estimated that around two million tons of dried
fallen leaves are shed in the state every year [6,20]. Such a huge
quantity of biomass (pine needles) can be utilized as an alternate fuel
source in the region. Dried and fallen pine leaf blocks growth of fresh
green grass that could be used for grazing animals is another enabler to
pine briquettes based energy generation.
Easy availability of other types of bio residue like farm residue (rice
husk) and sawdust [5,21] ensures continuity of production as pine trees
shed leaves only from January to April [6]. Low moisture content and
low ash density make these alternate bio residues more cost-effective
Fig. 3. Forest fire sensitive zone map [9].
4
Biomass and Bioenergy 165 (2022) 106580
compared to other fuels. It is more convenient to transport, handle
and store [21,22].
There is good scope for United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change’s (UNFCCC) funding and also earning carbon credits is
another enabling factor as pine briquettes decrease carbon emissions
and, if blended with some other material, save the environment from
lethal Sulfur pollutants [21]. Biomass is inherently carbon neutral [50].
The smoke index of pine-based briquettes is 1 after 2 min of burning
which means there is barely any smoke after 2 min of burning as
compared to traditional fuel that produces the highest smoke for the first
2 min [51]. In this study, pine needle briquette was prepared and
physio-chemical parameters were tested. Beehive briquettes provide
poor communities with a clean-burning, carbon-neutral, low-cost
cooking source.
2.1.4. Government and institution-related enabler (GT)
Government and institutional support are other important enabling
factor for such initiatives. In 2016, one government order related to the
free transport of dry and fallen pine needles was passed [23]. Govern­
ment departments have very proactive and trained field staff who are
well equipped with detection, communication and suppression of forest
fires. There is strong coordination between different government
agencies and a strong interface between government and community.
Uttarakhand’s pine policy has also been introduced in the year 2018,
which clearly states regulations related to the usage of pine biomass
[24]. There are several other acts and policies such as Forest Conser­
vation Act (1980), Indian Forest Act (1927), National Forest Policy
(1988) and, The Forest (Conservation) Rules (1981) [25,26]. This ac­
tivity has also been awarded the status of the cottage industry. Leading
research and educational institutes of national status such as the Indian
Institute of Technology Roorkee and the University of Petroleum and
Energy Studies have been supporting such initiatives by undertaking
research projects to develop machinery that is efficient and handy for
A. Sengar et al. Biomass and Bioenergy 165 (2022) 106580

Table 1
List of enablers supporting pine needle-based energy generation in Uttarakhand.
Enabler category Specific Factors References
enabler
code

Technology (TG) TG1 Easy technology [4,15–17]

TG2 Low maintenance
TG3 Minimal technical intervention
TG4 Efficiency
TG5 Low-cost technology
TG6 Awareness
Environment EV1 Climate change and energy [5,7,15,16,
(EV) security 18,19]
EV2 Controlling forest fire
EV3 Vegetation safety
EV4 Greenhouse gas
EV5 Other environmental issues
Economic (EN) EN1 Employment generation [5,6,15,16,
EN2 Additional income 21,22,24]
EN3 Self-sufficiency
EN4 Scope for UNFCCC funding
EN5 Abundance and sustainable
supply of dry and fallen pine
needles in the forests of north-
western Himalayas
EN6 Easy availability of other types Fig. 4. Briquetting machine.
of bio residue like farm residue
(rice husk), and saw dust to individual use for manufacturing briquettes from pine needles [14].
ensure continuity of production
EN7 Earning carbon credits
EN8 Availability of land for other 2.1.5. Social and community-related enabler (SC)
purposes Environmental change moderation and the financial health of the
Government and GT1 Government and department [14,23,24] people are two main factors behind community cohesion & trust among
institution (GT) support for the program. (one
villagers [15,16]. Women in these hilly regions consider such initiatives
government order related to
free transport of dry and fallen as a secondary source of income for them that could contribute to
pine needles was already done household income. Community participation in the utilization of the
in 2016) resources like forest bio residue is significant in the region.
GT2 Proactive Field staff from Enthusiastic entrepreneurs, especially unemployed, but educated
Government departments
GT3 Coordination between different
youth and villagers, feel pride in addressing an issue like climate change.
government agencies This initiative is economically viable, socially acceptable, and environ­
GT4 Pine Policy of Uttarakhand mentally friendly [16]. There is a change in peoples’ mindset towards
GT5 Support of leading educational such a project. Different government organizations in the state
and research institutes
attempted to initiate pine needle briquetting [15,16,19].
GT6 The strong interface between
government and community Community participation in forest bio residue resource utilization-
GT7 Awarding the cottage industry forest user and forest bio residue asset the executives while accom­
status to this activity plishing a much crucial objective of environmental change moderation
Social and SC1 Community cohesion & trust [13,14,17] with economic empowerment of nearby networks through essential
community SC2 Community participation in
(SC) forest bio residue resource
mechanical mediations. Network cooperation in nature preservation is
utilization reliably diminishing essential given expanding guidelines. Different
SC3 Women empowerment business parts of the forest should be returned in light of a legitimate
SC4 Agendas of individuals concern for economic increases of the close-by networks [16].
SC5 Enthusiastic entrepreneurs
(especially unemployed and
educated youth) 2.1.6. Market-related enabler (MK)
SC6 Pride of addressing a social One of the market-related enablers is the good demand for value-
responsibility like climate added products in the marketplace for fuel and smoking. This includes
change issue among all the bio-briquettes, Lantana camara briquettes, cottonweed briquettes,
stakeholders of the program
Artemisia indica briquettes etc. The smoke produced from these bri­
SC7 Change in peoples’ mindset
towards such project quettes possesses various medicinal properties ranging from antibacte­
Market-related MK1 Good demand for the value- [4,18] rial, anticancer, anti-fungal and many more. Viable fuel linkage is
enabler (MK) added product i.e. Bio another, enabling factor as briquettes made from dried pine needles are
briquettes, by the industry
an alternative energy source for commercial and household purposes. It
MK2 Viable fuel linkage
MK3 Sense of business approach has a high calorific value that gives it a preferable fuel option over the
among the main actors other alternatives available [18]. Local procurement by commercial
MK4 Non-availability of other fuels entities such as restaurants, hotels and sugar mills makes it an attractive
for self-consumption fuel option as other alternative fuels such as LPG are either very
MK5 Local procurement by
expensive or non-available. Another enabling factor is the sense of
commercial entities (easy
supply chain) business approach among the main actors and value chain partners is
MK6 Satisfied value chain partners very high. These people feel motivated to be a part of such an initiative,
MK7 Approachability of these sites as it protects their environment and is a source of employment and in­
come for them. The sites where these pine needles are collected and

5
A. Sengar et al.
Fig. 5. Pictorial description of the Business model of Forest Bio Residue-based Energy Generation.
converted into briquettes are easily approachable because they are
motorable, making it convenient to transport them to the point of final
consumption or close to the utilization place [4].
The terms "ontology" and "epistemology" refer to the nature of re­
ality, "how do we know the world," and "methodology" allude to how we
acquire knowledge in the framework of the "chosen" nature of reality,
respectively [54]. AHP is an MCDM method that aids in establishing the
comparative position and performs pairwise comparisons to rank factors
and subfactors utilizing both quantitative and qualitative elements [55].
The fuzzy AHP approach allows for fuzziness and uncertainty in the
decision-making process, making it suitable for such real-world
applications.
2.2. Research methodology
In this study, AHP and fuzzy logic has been used to assess and rank
these enablers to pine needle-based energy generation in the Uttarak­
hand state of India, as shown in Fig. 6.
With the aid of one-on-one interviews and concentrated group dis­
cussions, factors that affect the production of energy from pine leaves
Fig. 6. Steps for Fuzzy AHP analysis.
6
Biomass and Bioenergy 165 (2022) 106580
have been compiled from existing literature and comments from experts.
They provided suggestions, and a questionnaire was eventually created.
For the objective of gathering information for these surveys, in-depth
interviews with 65 specialists from the forest department and acade­
micians were undertaken. Finalizing the list of responders required the
use of judgmental sampling. AHP employs a small sample size since
large samples produce inconsistent results. The weights of each barrier
were calculated using AHP and fuzzy logic, and then these enablers were
prioritized and ranked. The reliability and validity of this study were
improved by the use of triangulation and peer briefing [54].
2.2.1. Fuzzy AHP methodology
To rank these enablers based on their importance, this study has used
AHP with fuzzy logic. AHP has popularly been used across various re­
searches associated with the prioritization of enablers and barriers, cost-
benefit analysis, allocation of resources [27–39,41–43]. Vagueness and
subjectivity in the data are controlled by using fuzzy logic [38,40]. To
cope with uncertain numerical quantities in a useful manner, Zadeh
invented fuzzy numbers [49]. A fuzzy number is a generalization of a
regular, real number in that it refers to a connected collection of po­
tential values, each of which weights 0 and 1, rather than to a single,
discrete value [1]. (a, b, c) represents triangular fuzzy number N, and μm
(z) as the membership function. The study is based on convex fuzzy
analysis using AHP.
⎧z− a
⎪
⎪
⎪
⎨b − a a ≤ z ≤ b
⎪
μm (z) = c − z b ≤ z ≤ c (1)
⎪
⎪ c − b Otherwise
⎪
⎪
⎩
0
with -∞ < a ≤ b ≤ c ≤ ∞.
The strongest grade of membership is the parameter b that is, fN(b) =
1, while a and c
are the lower and upper bounds. Triangular fuzzy numbers are N1
(n−1 , n1 , n+
1 ) and N2 (n2 , n2 , n2 ).
− +
Steps in the Fuzzy AHP process as per Chang’s analysis are as follows
[44,45].
Step 1. Calculate the Fuzzy synthetic extent value for ith object:
A. Sengar et al. Biomass and Bioenergy 165 (2022) 106580

( )−
∑
m1 n1 ∑
∑ m1
1 Table 3
Gi = j1
Ngi1 ⊗ j1
Ngi1 , i1 = 1, 2, ………n (2) Comparison matrix of enabler categories.
j1=i1 i1=1 j1=1
TG EV EN GT SC MK

Where, TG (1, 1,1) (3, 4, 5) (3, 4, 5) (2, 3, 4) (3, 4, (0.2, 0.25.

( ) 5) 0.33)
∑
m1 ∑
m1 ∑
m1 ∑
m1 EV (0.2, 0.25. (1, 1, 1) (3, 4, 5) (4, 5, 6) (1, 1, (3, 4, 5)
j1
Ngi1 = −
Ni1j1 , Ni1j1 , +
Ni1j1 i1 = 1, 2, ………n (3) 0.33) 1)
j1=i j1=i1 j1=i1 j1=i1 EN (0.2, 0.25. (0.2, 0.25. (1, 1, 1) (1, 2, 3) (3, 4, (3, 4, 5)
0.33) 0.33) 5)
( )− 1 [ ] GT (0.25, (0.16, 0.2, (0.33, 0.5, (1, 1, 1) (3, 4, (0.25,
∑
n1 ∑
m1
1 1 1
j1
Ngi1 = ∑n1 ∑m1 , ∑n1 ∑m1 , ∑n1 ∑m1 0.33, 0.5) 0.25) 1) 5) 0.33, 0.5)
i1=1 j1=1 i1=1
+
j1=1 Ni1j1 i1=1 j1=1 Ni1j1 i1=1
−
j1=1 Ni1j1
SC (0.2, 0.25. (1, 1, 1) (0.2, 0.25. (0.2, (1, 1, (0.25,
0.33) 0.33) 0.25. 1) 0.33, 0.5)
(4) 0.33)
MK (3, 4, 5) (0.2, 0.25. (0.2, 0.25. (2, 3, 4) (2, 3, (1, 1, 1)
0.33) 0.33) 4)
Step 2. For each fuzzy synthetic extent value, calculate the degree of
possibility.
G(SC) = (2.60, 2.75, 2.99) ⊗ (79.72, 63.94, 49.04) − 1
If N2 = (n−2 , n2 , n+
2 ) ≥ N1=(n1 , n1 , n1 ) then (N2 ≥ N1 = (x), μN2(y)]
− +
= (0.03, 0.04, 0.06)
x and y are membership values.
G(MK) = (7.40, 10.50, 13.66) ⊗ (79.72, 63.94, 49.04) − 1
Step 3. Define the minimum degree of possibility of the superiority of = (0.09, 0.16, 0.28)
each enabler with the other. Calculate the weight vector of each enabler The minimum value of each enabler is calculated using equations (6)
category. and (7) in the steps mentioned below:
A convex fuzzy number is denoted as follows, m(TG) = minV(G1 ≥ Gk) = 1.
Similarly, m(EV) = 0.6202, m(EN) = 0.259, m(GT) = 0.0459, m(SC)
V (G ≥ G1, G2 … GK) = minV (G ≥ Gi), i = 1, 2, … … k (5)
= 0.0286, m(MK) = 0.5981.
d(Gi ) = minV(G ≥ Gk ) = Wi k = 1, 2,
′
n and k ∕
=I (6) WV = (1, 0.6202, 0.259, 0.0459, 0.0286, 0.5981)T
Normalized weight: W = (0.3919, 0.2430, 0.1015, 0.0180, 0.0112,
Weights, of the factors are
W1,i 0.2344)
( ′ ) Similarly, weights of all enablers are calculated as shown in Table 4.
(7)
′ ′
W1 = W11 , W12 , ……, W1n ⋅T

3. Results and discussions

Step 4. After normalization, W1′ shows priority weights. Results based on the analysis using fuzzy AHP are mentioned in
Table 4, and a brief description is mentioned in the following section:
(8)
′
W1 = (W11 , W12 , ……, W1n )⋅T.
1. Ranking of the categories
Studies by authors such as Buckley and Ross [46,47] provide a
2. Ranking of the enablers across the categories - Global ranking
detailed explanation of the concepts of fuzzy numbers, fuzzy sets, and
3. Ranking of the enablers within the category - Local ranking
fuzzy operations.
The rank of an enabler in the table shows its extent of criticality and
2.3. Calculation of final weights of all enablers concerning their enabler the relevance and importance of these enablers to pine briquettes-based
categories energy generation.
Table 4 also represents the global ranks of these enablers. The global
A pairwise comparison of forty factors categorized under six enabler rank of an enabler is obtained by the multiplication of the weights of the
categories was done by a team of experts where they assigned triangular enabler category and the weight of the enabler itself. These rankings are
fuzzy numbers shown in Table 2: explained in detail in the following section.
This method discussed above is used to determine the weights of the
enabler categories shown in Table 3. 3.1. Ranking of the categories
The extent value of each enabler is calculated using equation (2):
G(TG) = (12.00, 16.00, 20.00) ⊗ (79.72, 63.94, 49.04) − 1 The results show that the enablers grouped under the technology
= (0.15, 0.25, 0.41) category are the major influencer of the pine needle-based energy gen­
G(EV) = (9.20, 11.25, 13.33) ⊗ (79.72, 63.94, 49.04) − 1 eration. This category was then followed by environmental, market,
= (0.12, 0.18, 0.27) economic, government and lastly, social & community-related enabler
G(EN) = (5.40, 7.50, 9.66) ⊗ (79.72, 63.94, 49.04) − 1 categories. Technology-related enablers are key to such interventions
= (0.07, 0.12, 0.20) using dried and fallen pine needles for energy generation. The second
G(GT) = (4.74, 6.03, 7.75) ⊗ (79.72, 63.94, 49.04) − 1 category is environment-related enablers that have a direct impact on
= (0.06, 0.09, 0.16) the environment by using pine briquettes for the generation of energy.
Market-related factors occupy third place, including enabling factors
Table 2 such as good demand for the bio briquettes by the industry, viable fuel
Triangular fuzzy numbers of the semantic attributes used in this study. linkage, sense of business approach among the main actors, and non-
Semantic attributes Triangular fuzzy number Reciprocal fuzzy values availability of other fuels for self-consumption. Economic enablers are
Absolute (4, 5, 6) (1/6, 1/5, 1/4) next in importance and majorly include factors such as employment
Very Strong (3, 4, 5) (1/5, 1/4, 1/3) generation, additional income, self-sufficiency etc., making such initia­
Fairly Strong (2, 3, 4) (1/4, 1/3, 1/2) tives attractive enough to be adopted by people. Government and lastly
Weak (1, 2, 3) (1/3, 1/2, 1) social & community-related enablers are the next categories, in priority
Just equal (1, 1, 1) (1, 1, 1)
for such renewable energy generation-based projects.

7
A. Sengar et al. Biomass and Bioenergy 165 (2022) 106580

Table 4
Ranking of all the enablers to pine needle-based energy generation.
S.no. Factors Relative preference weight Relative rank Sub-factors Local weights Relative ranking Global weights Global ranking

1 TG 0.3919 1 TG1 0.1148 3 0.0450 6

TG2 0.4154 1 0.1628 1
TG3 0.2720 2 0.1066 3
TG4 0.0847 4 0.0332 12
TG5 0.0538 6 0.0211 18
TG6 0.0593 5 0.0232 16
2 EV 0.2430 2 EV1 0.1434 4 0.0349 10
EV2 0.4653 1 0.1131 2
EV3 0.2374 2 0.0577 5
EV4 0.0051 5 0.0012 34
EV5 0.1487 3 0.0361 9
3 EN 0.1015 4 EN1 0.3972 1 0.0403 8
EN2 0.2129 2 0.0216 17
EN3 0.0593 5 0.0060 21
EN4 0.0044 6 0.0004 39
EN5 0.0345 4 0.0035 27
EN6 0.1285 3 0.0130 19
EN7 0.1285 3 0.0130 20
EN8 0.0345 4 0.0035 28
4 GT 0.0180 5 GT1 0.0865 4 0.0016 33
GT2 0.1967 2 0.0035 26
GT3 0.2268 1 0.0041 22
GT4 0.1167 3 0.0021 30
GT5 0.0297 5 0.0005 38
GT6 0.2268 1 0.0041 23
GT7 0.1167 3 0.0021 31
5 SC 0.0112 6 SC1 0.0503 6 0.0006 37
SC2 0.0952 4 0.0011 35
SC3 0.2645 2 0.0030 29
SC4 0.0840 5 0.0009 36
SC5 0.0231 7 0.0003 40
SC6 0.1586 3 0.0018 32
SC7 0.3243 1 0.0036 25
6 MK 0.2344 3 MK1 0.1478 3 0.0346 11
MK2 0.2690 1 0.0630 4
MK3 0.1811 2 0.0424 7
MK4 0.0162 6 0.0038 24
MK5 0.1379 4 0.0323 13
MK6 0.1240 5 0.0291 14
MK7 0.1240 5 0.0291 15

3.2. Ranking of the enablers across the categories – global ranking
Table 4 shows the global ranking of all enablers across categories.
Low maintenance of the machinery used for making briquettes from
fallen dried pine needles is the top enabler under global ranking and
belongs to technology-related enabler. Controlling forest fires by uti­
lizing pine needles for energy generation, which are a major cause
behind these fires is the second-highest ranked individual enabler
belonging to environment-related enablers. The third important enabler
is minimal technical intervention as the machinery used is non-
monotonous, least specialized, protected and involves simple activities
that are categorized under technology-related enablers. Viable fuel
linkage belonging to market-related enabler is ranked as the fourth
enabler. Out of the forty enablers, three enablers falling in the top ten
categories are classified under the technology-related enabler category
making it an important enabler to pine needle-based energy generation.
The lowest-ranked enabler includes enthusiastic entrepreneurs (espe­
cially unemployed/educated youth), community cohesion & trust,
agendas of individuals, and community participation in forest bio res­
idue resource utilization belongs to the category of social & community-
related enabler, making this category least important.
3.3. Ranking of the enablers within the category - local ranking
3.3.1. Technology
Technology factors are ranked as the most important enabler among
all the categories mentioned. In this category, low maintenance of the
machinery used for crushing and making briquettes from the pine
needles is ranked as the highest. Minimal technical intervention and
easy technology used in the equipment to make briquettes are the next
important barriers in this category. The majority of this machinery’s
users are villagers having little or no technical expertise making these
sub-factors major enablers. The efficiency of the machinery available for
briquette manufacturing is high. Based on the observation, one ma­
chinery could manufacture 1.5 kg/h. Another factor in this category is
awareness among villagers who are the ultimate beneficiary of such
projects, which mainly traverse through village heads, who are key
influencers in the rural areas. Low-cost technology makes such projects
attractive and acceptable among the village community.
3.3.2. Environment
Environmental factors refer to the sensitivity of people in addressing
issues related to the environment as it affects entire humankind directly
or indirectly. Controlling forest fires is among the top enabler because
pine residue is one of the major causes of forest fires. As per Uttarakhand
Forest Department data, pine trees range across half a million hectares of
the forest area in the state [6]. In 2019, forest fires due to pine residue
affected 1244.64 ha of forest. It is a major threat to the vegetation close
to the pine forests. Hence, the vegetation safety of nearby broadleaf
forests from fire is the second most important enabling factor in this
category. Vegetation and other forms of tress may have the scope to
rejuvenate. Addressing other environmental issues like soil degradation,
water scarcity, wildlife extinction, and a slump in tourism are the next
important enablers. Approximately two million tons of dry biomass are
produced annually in the form of dried pine needles [6,20]. Climate
change and energy security are other enabling factors as these forest

8
A. Sengar et al.
fires are major causes behind climate change. In Uttarakhand, pine
needle-led fires discharge approximately 500 million kilograms of car­
bon dioxide every year into the air [7,48]. It makes controlling green­
house gas emissions another key enabler in this category.
3.3.3. Market
Enabling factors related to the marketplace have been rated as the
third most important factor in pine residue-based energy generation.
Viable fuel linkage occupies the top rank in this category. Viable fuel
linkage is the backbone of bio residue-based energy generation initia­
tives. Bio briquettes made from dried pine leaves have a scope of con­
sumption both at commercial and household levels. Sense of business
approach among the main actors is ranked second and is a major factor
influencing the sustainability of such projects. Good demand for value-
added products such as bio briquettes for fuel and smoking purposes. Bio
briquettes have good demand as fuel by the sugar industry. Other
products such as Lantana Camara briquettes, cottonweed briquettes, and
Artemisia indica briquettes can be used for smoking purposes because
the smoke produced from them possesses various medicinal properties
ranging from antibacterial, anticancer, and anti-fungal. Local procure­
ment by commercial entities is ranked next in this category. Commercial
units such as restaurants, and hotels procure this readily available and
low-cost fuel for consumption. The next ranked factors carrying less
importance include satisfied value chain partners, approachability of
these sites and non-availability of other fuels for self-consumption.
3.3.4. Economic
Economic enablers are ranked fourth among all the factors. Among
these, the employment generation has the highest rank. Hilly regions of
Uttarakhand have lesser avenues for employment. Such energy gener­
ation projects employ a mass population to collect dried pine needles
and manufacture briquettes from them. This helps in generating an
additional source of income for the households, which is another driving
factor. Females in the hilly terrain, engage themselves in collecting and
making briquettes post their household hours to earn additional income
for their family and raise their family’s well-being. Easy availability of
other types of bio residue such as farm residue (rice husk), sawdust ranks
next as it ensures continuity of production of briquettes during the off-
season when dried pine needles are unavailable. Earning carbon
credits is ranked third as it reduces greenhouse gas emissions by
removing pine leaves from the forest floor, which is the major cause of
forest fire. The abundance and sustainable supply of pine needles in the
forests of northwestern Himalayas is the next enabler as approximately 2
million tons of dried fallen leaves are shed in the region every year [6,
20]. Availability of land for grazing purposes, self-sufficiency and the
scope of UNFCCC funding are less important factors in this category.
3.3.5. Government and institution
Coordination between different government agencies and the strong
interface between government and community are the most important
driving factors in this category. The second-ranked factor is the presence
of proactive field staff from the Government departments. Pine Policy of
Uttarakhand introduced in the year 2018 is the next important factor
supporting such initiatives. The government has awarded cottage in­
dustry status to the activity that further supports and makes it an
attractive venture to be opted by people as an income generation ac­
tivity. Government and departments support such programs, such as one
government order related to free transport of dry and fallen pine needles
was passed in the year 2016. Leading research and educational institutes
of eminence such as the Indian Institute of Technology and the Uni­
versity of Petroleum and Energy Studies support researchers to develop
machinery for briquette manufacturing and other value-added products.
3.3.6. Social and community
The last category among all the enablers is social and community-
related enablers. The primary enabler in this category is a change in
9
Biomass and Bioenergy 165 (2022) 106580
peoples’ mindset towards such projects. These initiatives will help to
protect the environment from forest fires that engulf hectares of forests
every year in Uttarakhand. Women empowerment is the next important
enabler as these projects involve women in economic activities like
briquettes manufacturing from dried pine leaves and other value-added
products. This empowers them by making them financially independent.
Pride in addressing a social responsibility like climate change issue
among all the stakeholders of the program and community participation
in forest bio residue resource utilization is the next important enabling
factor in this category. Agendas of individuals and community cohesion
& trust are the next in the ranking. The last rank in this category is
assigned to enthusiastic entrepreneurs, especially unemployed and
educated youth, as these energy generation initiatives give them the
opportunity for employment generation.
3.4. Sensitivity analysis
Sensitivity analysis evaluates the robustness of the proposed frame­
work. Analysis shows that technology-related enablers (TG) with the
highest weights are ranked first among all the enabler categories shown
in Table 4. TG may have an impact on the ranking of other enabler
categories [27]. It would be interesting and useful to analyze the effect
on the weights and ranking of other factors on varying weights. Sensi­
tivity analysis was done by changing the values of TG from 0.1 to 0.9 to
see the impact on other enablers (Table 5). The sensitivity run showed
that maximum impact was seen in the weights of environment-related
enablers (EV). Further, an impact could be seen on the weights and
ranking of other sub-factors on changing weights of TG. In the sensitivity
run, when the value of TG is 0.1, EV2 acquires the first rank and SC5
acquires the last rank. At the normalized value, when TG is 0.3919, TG2
holds first rank and EV2 second rank. It is also interesting to note that
TG2 remains in the first rank while TG varies from 0.4 to 0.9. Variation
in the ranking of other sub-factors is shown in Table 6 and Fig. 7. It may
be concluded that technology-related factors are very important and
crucial to mitigate climate change using community-based briquettes
manufactured from dried Pine needles for energy generation.
4. Conclusion
Climate change is a global challenge and as always, said that ‘emis­
sion anywhere affects people everywhere’ therefore it becomes of
utmost importance to look for affordable, scalable solutions and enable
countries towards a cleaner environment.
Pine trees spread across vast forests of Uttarakhand are a major cause
of forest fire in the region as dried fallen pine leaves are highly
inflammable. There is a need to identify avenues to utilize these leaves to
achieve both environmental and socio-economic benefits for the people
belonging to the region and the environment as a whole. Energy gen­
eration from these fallen leaves has huge potential. This paper identifies
and evaluates all the factors that support pine needle-based energy
generation using briquettes based on the inputs received from the ex­
perts. These enablers were ranked by using fuzzy AHP, which is an
MCDM approach.
The analysis results show technology-related enablers to be the most
important factor supporting pine needle-based energy generation. The
order of the criticality of the factors indicates technology-related factors
as highest, followed by environmental, market-related, economic, gov­
ernment/institution, and lastly, social/community-related factors.
Amongst the ranking of sub-factors across all the categories, low
maintenance of machinery is top-ranked. The next ranked important
enabler is controlling forest fire, which engulfs hectares of forests every
year, causing major loss of flora and fauna and increased pollution
levels. Minimal technical intervention is the third important enabling
factor, as machinery used in such initiatives does not require any tech­
nical expertise and may be resolved with the minimum technological
intervention. The reliability of these results was further tested using
A. Sengar et al. Biomass and Bioenergy 165 (2022) 106580

Table 5
Effect of Technology related Enablers on other enablers.
Enabler’s Categories Weights of enabler categories

TG 0.100000 0.200000 0.300000 0.400000 0.500000 0.600000 0.700000 0.800000 0.900000 0.100000
EV 0.359645 0.319684 0.279724 0.239763 0.199803 0.159842 0.119882 0.079921 0.039961 0.359645
EN 0.150222 0.133531 0.116839 0.100148 0.083457 0.066765 0.050074 0.033383 0.016691 0.150222
GT 0.026640 0.023680 0.020720 0.017760 0.014800 0.011840 0.008880 0.005920 0.002960 0.026640
SC 0.016576 0.014734 0.012893 0.011051 0.009209 0.007367 0.005525 0.003684 0.001842 0.016576
MK 0.346917 0.308370 0.269824 0.231278 0.192731 0.154185 0.115639 0.077093 0.038546 0.346917
Total 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

Table 6
Ranking of enablers using sensitivity analysis when Technology related Enablers varies.
Specific enablers Technology related Enablers values used for Sensitivity analysis

0.1 0.2 0.3 Normalized (0.3919) 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9

TG1 17 15 12 6 6 4 4 3 3 3
TG2 12 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
TG3 14 6 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 2
TG4 19 18 15 12 12 7 5 4 4 4
TG5 24 20 18 18 17 14 9 7 6 6
TG6 22 19 17 16 16 11 8 6 5 5
EV1 7 9 9 10 10 12 13 13 13 13
EV2 1 1 1 2 2 3 3 5 7 7
EV3 3 4 5 5 5 6 7 9 9 9
EV4 34 34 34 34 34 34 34 34 34 34
EV5 6 8 8 9 9 10 12 12 12 12
EN1 5 7 7 8 8 9 11 11 11 11
EN2 13 14 16 17 18 18 18 18 18 18
EN3 18 21 21 21 21 21 21 21 21 21
EN4 39 39 39 39 39 39 39 39 39 39
EN5 27 27 27 27 27 27 27 27 27 27
EN6 15 16 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19
EN7 16 17 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20
EN8 28 28 28 28 28 28 28 28 28 28
GT1 33 33 33 33 33 33 33 33 33 33
GT2 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26
GT3 20 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22
GT4 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30
GT5 38 38 38 38 38 38 38 38 38 38
GT6 21 23 23 23 23 23 23 23 23 23
GT7 31 31 31 31 31 31 31 31 31 31
SC1 37 37 37 37 37 37 37 37 37 37
SC2 35 35 35 35 35 35 35 35 35 35
SC3 29 29 29 29 29 29 29 29 29 29
SC4 36 36 36 36 36 36 36 36 36 36
SC5 40 40 40 40 40 40 40 40 40 40
SC6 32 32 32 32 32 32 32 32 32 32
SC7 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25
MK1 8 10 10 11 11 13 14 14 14 14
MK2 2 3 4 4 4 5 6 8 8 8
MK3 4 5 6 7 7 8 10 10 10 10
MK4 23 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24
MK5 9 11 11 13 13 15 15 15 15 15
MK6 10 12 13 14 14 16 16 16 16 16
MK7 11 13 14 15 15 17 17 17 17 17

sensitivity analysis. 5. Limitations and future scope of work

Making briquettes with pine needles to generate energy for local
consumption can be a self-sufficient method of generating green energy
to meet the demands of the local and commercial establishments in the
neighbouring areas. The idea is plausible and has several driving factors
as seen in the literature and substantiated by experts in the energy field.
The analysis results in a very logical sequencing of the enablers that will
help the government and the policymakers to support climate action,
and affordable and clean energy as indicated in the United Nations’
Sustainable Development Goals for 2030 by initiating pine needle-based
energy generation projects in Uttarakhand. This study also proposes an
opportunity to achieve many other sustainable development goals such
as gender equality, no poverty, and reduced inequalities.
This study intends to find, categorize, analyze and rank important
factors influencing energy generation using dried pine needles in
Uttarakhand, India. The findings of the study are centred on the re­
sponses obtained from the experts in this area. It is very difficult to
remove biases from their opinions and judgements. The findings of this
study may not be extended and generalized to energy generation using
other forest bio residue.
This study can be replicated in other countries with an abundance of
pine trees. Another study can be proposed to compare the ranking of the
enabling factors to pine-based energy generation initiatives across
different countries and developing/developed nations. Additionally, the
methodology adopted in this paper can be changed using different
MCDM approaches such as TOPSIS, ANP, DEMATEL etc.

10
A. Sengar et al.
Fig. 7. Results of the sensitivity analysis.
Funding source
National Mission on Himalayan Studies (NMHS) for a Project titled
“Socio-Economic Value Creation through Forest Bio-Residue Based En­
ergy Generation in alignment with the UN’s SDGs". Grant no.: GBPNI/
NMHS-2018-19/MG 3.
Data availability
The data that has been used is confidential.
Acknowledgements
The authors of this work thank the National Mission on Himalayan
Studies (NMHS) for funding a Project titled “Socio-Economic Value
Creation through Forest Bio-Residue Based Energy Generation in
alignment with the UN’s SDGs". Grant no.: GBPNI/NMHS-2018-19/MG
3. This paper is an outcome of this project.
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