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BioSIS Help Document

Welcome to the Biorefinery Stakeholder Information System (BioSIS), an advanced tool for evaluating the feasibility and opportunities for locating a new biorefinery. The system presents information on demographics, land use, biomass, feedstocks, economics, and financial management. The system allows users to research the market, economic, sustainability, technical, and financial aspects of starting a new biofuels venture.

Entering BioSIS

BioSIS is organized by potential user type. Entering the application as different user types loads different map types into the Market tab and different calculators in the economic and sustainability tabs. The user types are:

  • Local, State, or Federal Public Official
  • Investor or Financial Lender
  • Farmer, Rancher, or Private Landowner

BioSIS User Types

To enter BioSIS read the user type descriptions and click the heading for the appropriate user type. After clicking a user type link the interface will display an introductory page and a series of tabs and buttons across the top of the page. The tabs represent the Market, Economic, and Sustainability research that can be performed as well as additional resources that provide technical and financial information. Click on the Market tab to begin your research.


BioSIS Tabs

Next to the tabs there are three buttons:

  • Resize Button The Toggle Map Size button will maximize the application to fill the entire browser window
  • Information Button The Information button will display the same information available in the About BioSIS tab
  • Home Button The Home button will return the application to the user type selection page

Using The Market Tab

The market tab displays a map application that displays a variety of data. The map application is organized into a Legend, Interactive Map, Map Type Selector, Layer Switcher, and Map Tools. The data displayed in the map application is organized by map type with different map layers.


BioSIS Market Tab

The Map Type Selector changes the theme of the map. The selection of maps varies depending on the user type selected. To change the map type, click the Map Type Selector and choose a different map type. The following table lists the map types that are available through each user type.

Local, State, or Federal Public Official Investor or Financial Lender Farmer, Rancher, or Private Landowner
Socio Demographic Available Biomass Net Returns
Current Landuse Biorefineries Biorefineries
Net Returns Demand and Infrastructre Demand and Infrastructure
Available Biomass Potential Biomass 2015  
Demand and Infrastructure Potential Biomass 2030  

The Layer Switcher controls the layers in the current map. Click the forward or backward arrows to change the layer. Hover over the layer switcher to display a list of available layers in the map. Click a layer in the list to display that layer. Click the information icon next to the layer name to display more information about that layer. For a full description of the map types and map layers view the ‘Map Layer Descriptions’ document available under the Market description of the About BioSIS tab.

The Map Legend updates automatically when the layers are changed with the layer switcher. Different layers also become visible in the map and legend when the map is zoomed in or out.

The Interactive Map displays geographic data and can be navigated by zooming in or out and panning the map. The map can be zoomed in by scrolling the mouse wheel up while hovering over the map or clicking the plus button in the upper left corner of the map. The map can also be zoomed in by holding the shift button while holding the left mouse button down and dragging a rectangle over the map. The map can be zoomed out by scrolling the mouse wheel down or clicking the minus button in the upper left corner of the map.

To view the data for any feature in the map, single click on the feature in the map. This will display the information window. The information window displays all of the features occurring at the location clicked. The different features can be displayed by scrolling through them with the arrows in the upper right corner of the information window. The data is divided into logical categories. Clicking the different tabs in the window will display the different data categories. Each feature can be zoomed to by clicking the ‘Zoom to’ link on the bottom of the window.

Information Window

The Map Tools section contains two tools:

  • Report Tool Button The report tool allows custom report creation
  • Zoom Tool Button The zoom tool zooms the map to a state or the contiguous US

Creating Reports

The BioSIS application provides the ability to create custom reports that compare and summarize information across counties and geographic regions. The report tools vary depending on the map type selected within the market tab. Open the report tool by clicking on the report tool button in the map tools.

Comparison Report

To create a comparison report either click the ‘Select from Map’ button and click up to 3 counties on the map or select up to three counties using the State and County dropdown lists. Verify the selected counties are correct using the ‘Selected County Display’. Remove any counties from the selection by clicking the X next to the county. Zoom to the selected counties by clicking the magnifying glass. Create a report by clicking the ‘Generate Report’ button. The report will show in the ‘Generated Reports Display’. While the report is processing a spinner icon is displayed with the text ‘Generating report for…’. When the report is complete it will automatically open. Ensure there is no pop-up blocker enabled or it will not open. The report can be re-opened by clicking on it in the ‘Generated Reports Display’. Close the report tools by clicking the X on the report tools window or by clicking the report tools button in the map tools. Closing the report tools will clear the selection of counties and disable the county selection tool. The generated reports will remain in the ‘Generated Reports Display’. They can be viewed by re-opening the report tools. Changing the Map Type will reset the Generated Reports Display and the reports will be lost.


Report Tools

Summary Report

The Available Biomass Map contains a Summary Report Tool in addition to the Comparison Report Tool. The summarize report tool will total all of the data values for the counties selected and provide a report with a single column that displays the total biomass values for the counties selected. Clicking the [+] next to the Biomass Summary Report Section will expand the Summary Report tool and minimize the Comparison Report Tool. The summary report tool operates in a similar fashion as the Comparison Report Tool; however, the limit on selected counties is ten, not three.

Proximity Report

The Proximity Report Tool is in the Demand and Infrastructure Map and Biorefineries Map. The Proximity Report Tool is different from the other report tools. It summarizes information in the map within a 50 mile radius of any point clicked in the map. To use the proximity report tool open the Report Tools interface. Click the ‘Select from Map’ button. Click a location on the map. A green circle will appear on the map that represents an area with a 50 mile radius around the location clicked. Different locations can be clicked to determine what falls within the circle. When satisfied with the location, click the Generate Report button. The report will display in the Generated Reports Display.


Proximity Report Tool

Using The Zoom Tool

The map tools within the Market tab contain a zoom tool that allows zooming to preset locations. Click the zoom tool to open the interface. The interface contains two tabs: States and Custom. The States tab contains bookmarks to zoom to a specific state. Click any of the states to zoom to that state. Click ‘Zoom to US Contiguous’ to zoom back out to the contiguous United States.

The Custom tab allows the creation of custom bookmarks. The bookmarks will remain saved when you return to the application at a later date. To create a custom bookmark, first set the map to the desired extent. Click ‘Add Bookmark’ under the Custom Zoom Tab. Type a name for the bookmark and press enter. Clicking on the bookmark will zoom the map to this custom extent.


Zoom Tool Interface

Using the Economic Tab

The economic tab contains an economic calculator. There are two types of calculators that are available in the Economic tab: the Biofuels Venture Value Calculator and the Crop Production Value Calculator. The Biofuels Venture Value Calculator is available from the Local, State, or Federal Public Official section of the site and the Investor or Financial Lender section. The Crop Production Value Calculator is available from the Farmer, Rancher, or Private Landowner Section.

BioFuels Venture Value Calculator

The venture value calculator is based on formulas made available from the BioFuels Digest, March 2012. The calculator is divided into two sections. The top section (in blue) contains the inputs used in the calculator. The bottom section (in green) contains the calculated results. Two columns are available to enter input: Default Ventures and Custom Ventures. Choosing a default venture will fill in the input values and calculate the results with average default values for the venture. The values cannot be edited. The same venture can be chosen from the custom venture column and then edited with different input values for comparison with the default.


BioFuels Venture Value Calculator

Crop Production Value Calculator

The crop calculator is based on formulas from the USDA Economic Research Service (ERS) Commodity Costs and Returns. The calculator is divided into five sections that allows the user to view Crop costs, gross, and net production values for different crop types. The sections are Crop Type, Region, Year; Gross Crop Production Value; Operating Costs; Allocated Overhead Costs; and Net Crop Production Values. Three columns let users research the costs and values associated with different crop types. The Baseline column lets users select a crop type and view average costs and values. The values in this column cannot be edited. The Adjusted column lets users select the same or a different crop type and view and edit the costs and values. The custom column lets users enter values for any crop or feedstock and see how the values compare to other crop types. To begin, select a crop type from one of the columns. The region will be automatically set to the United States. Users familiar with ERS agricultural regions can select a custom region. The year will automatically be set to 2012. This will set crop price calculations to 2012. 2011 can also be chosen if desired. Gray cells are calculated and cannot be altered in any of the columns. White cells can be edited in the Adjusted and Custom columns.


Crop Production Value Calculator

Accessibility Features

The easiest way to navigate the site is using the tab key. The tab key will move the focus to each major section, link, or button in the application. The spacebar will open links and the enter key can be used to click buttons. The application first opens with a description of the BioSIS application and stakeholder types. To enter the BioSIS application press the enter or spacebar key while focus is on one of the three stakeholder types. The main application will then open. The application consists of a tool bar and a tabbed interface. Press tab to select the first tool on the toolbar. Press tab to go through the tools and get to the first tab: Introduction. Press tab again to enter the contents of the tab. Press shift tab to return to the list of tabs. Navigate the tabs with the down arrow and up arrow. When entering the contents of a tab, screen reader software will announce what type of contents are within the tab. Most browsers and screen reader software will then automatically read the contents of the tab. If the contents are not automatically read in your browser please use your screen reader's command buttons, such as: element short cut keys for paragraphs, graphics, and tables or the "Say All" command. The market tab of the application contains an interactive map application. Data displayed in this map can be downloaded in tabular form by following the Download Data link under the Related Topics Section. Use the tab key to navigate to the related topics section.