Table 3.

Parameters of the model and references

Definitions	Symbols and units	Value	References
Transportation cost from supplier ‘i’ to pellet factory ‘j’	$T_{\mathit{ij}}$($/kg)	Appendix 1	(Vazifeh et al., 2021)
Capacity of supplier ‘i’	Si (kg)	Appendix 2	(Mafakheri et al., 2020)
Biomass price of supplier ‘i’ with and without discount	$P_i^{l,u}$($/kg)	Appendix 2	(Mafakheri et al., 2020)
Biomass harvesting cost for supplier ‘i’	${\mathrm{hs}}_i$($/kg)	0.4 (for all suppliers)	(Vazifeh et al., 2021)
Wood pellet ordering cost from pellet factory ‘j’ with and without discount	$P_j^{l,u}$($/kg)	Appendix 3	(Mobini, 2015)
Conversion rate of wood pellet to electricity	$\mathit{fc}$(kWh/kg)	4.7, 4.8, 4.6	(Mobini, 2015)
Loading factor of energy convertor ‘k’	${\mathit{Lf}}_k$(%)	0.80, 0.85, 0.80	(Vazifeh et al., 2023a, 2023b)
Electricity generation cost from biomass	${\mathit{LB}}_k$($/kWh)	0.046, 0.044, 0.048	(Vazifeh et al., 2021)
Electricity generation cost from diesel	${\mathit{LD}}_k$($/kWh)	0.208, 0.25, 0.207	(Mafakheri et al., 2020)
Demand in energy convertor ‘k’ at time t	$D_k^t$(kWh)	Appendix 4	(Mafakheri et al., 2020)
Capacity of electricity generation	$Z_k$(kW)	500 (for all communities)	(Mafakheri et al., 2020)