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Jatropha curcas L. (JCL) as a bioenergy crop has attracted many interests because of high oil content for biodiesel production, perennial drought tolerant, soil reclamation, desert reduction, rural development and environmental benefits. This study aims at investigating the areas for cultivation of JCL by a non-radial data envelopment analysis (DEA) model. In this regard, two categories of criteria including (1) critical and (2) non-critical economic, climatic, and social criteria are defined to evaluate the suitability of different locations for JCL cultivation in Iran. Critical criteria include long frost period, water logging condition, and low soil pH. The JCL cannot tolerate critical criteria. Locations that satisfy critical criteria are then assessed under second group criteria by the non-radial data envelopment analysis (DEA) model. The acquired results show that the proposed approach can be used as powerful tool for location optimization of energy crops. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.