Welcome to ENERGIGÅRDEN!
Here you can find information and facts about small – scale energy techniques for agriculture – i.e. energy from the farms.
Agriculture has got great potential to contribute to Sweden’s energy production and ENERGIGÅRDEN will help and support this development. ENERGIGÅRDEN is a meeting place where all interested can assemble for joint work and see the possibilities for producing energy from agriculture. ENERGIGÅRDEN has its base in Västra Götaland but is not limited to this region and is also able to operate in a bigger geographical region.
LRFs scenario and estimated calculation says that 20 TWh energy can come from agriculture. The aim for ENERGIGÅRDEN is that 25% of this estimate should be produced in Västra Götaland i.e. 5 TWh year 2020.
About ENERGIGÅRDEN
Development of energy production from agriculture in Western Sweden?
Agriculture can play a very important role in the necessary change of the Swedish energy system. Agriculture can contribute to the energy production through wind power, solar power, solar electricity, cultivation of energy products like grain, Bebb Willow, reed canary grass and cannabis sativa and by-products that are produced like straw and fertilizer. Against the background for this LRF, Lantmannen, BYS, Agroväst, Fjaderfacentrum, Hushallningssallskapet and KanEnergi met to discuss what the best way could be to look after the potential development in western Sweden with the of help of Stiftelse Lantbruksforsknings FUD – programme and others. The discussions concluded that a coordinated function is needed in Västra Götaland to be able to take care of the big energy potential in Västra Götaland agriculture for change in the Swedish energy system. Combining all participants in Västra Götaland in joint energy investment quickly gives Västra Götaland a possibility to be the leading region in the EU in this area. Therefore Agroväst established the programme of ENERGIGÅRDEN.
The programme’s purpose and aim
The purpose of the programme ENERGIGÅRDEN is to be a focal point and driving force in the development of renewable energy production from the west Swedish agriculture from a local producer and customer perspective.
The aim of the programme ENERGIGÅRDEN is that Västra Götaland by 2020 shall account for 25% of the 20TWh energy potential that is given in LRFs energy scenario for 2020.
ENERGIGÅRDEN can be illustrated in the following way:
Background
Oil is increasingly expensive and the threat of un– sustainable development
One of the biggest threats against global sustainable development, both social, economic and environmental, is the ongoing change in the earth’s climate. The change in climate is mainly due to the use of fossil fuels. At today’s level of energy consumption it’s calculated that the earth’s oil reserves are going to last about 40 years. For fossil fuels the corresponding number is about 60 years. Since the demand increases a lot faster then the discovery of new reserves, the period of grace becomes shorter and shorter for every year that goes. The oil is not going to run out, but it’s going to be more and more expensive. Then we have the threat of the earth heating up due to the increased discharge of carbon dioxide. Intact with the export capacity of electricity between Sweden and Norway and other European countries increasingly equalizes the electricity costs in Europe with a result of increased prices in Sweden.
Agriculture and sun collector
The green industries can with the sun’s help produce renewable and environmentally friendly energy like bioenergy, wind and small scale water power. Theoretically plants can capture 3–4% of the sun’s radiation. Plant growing experts claim that a practical maximum is 1%. Swedish agriculture showed figures of 0.4% which is far away from this. (Kungliga Skogs- och Lantbrukarsakademiens Tidskrift Nr 6, 1995)
An increased tie of solar energy in the growth process with 0.1% would give 23 TWh, which is more then today’s total contribution of help energy in agriculture. Bioenergy today is responsible today for about 20% of Sweden’s total energy production and gives tens of thousands of jobs and a living countryside. The use of bioenergy can be doubled without the raw material supply to forest and food industries or the environment being threatened.
Growing energy resources can be seen as an alternative to growing grain, oil plants and pasture plants for human consumption or feed. This possibility is specially topical when the prices of traditional agricultural products are squeezed and society’s support to agriculture is not related to production. The interest of farmers in grain as a heating fuel has increased rapidly within the last few years in line with rising oil prices and 5 000 farms in the countryside heat with grain. Wind power development has expanded increasingly within the last few years due to increased electricity prices and electricity certificates. Rising prices of electricity and fuels has led to greater interest in small scale biogas production and many start-up studies are going on in Västra Götaland. For example the total energy harvest from growing straw to about 20 000 kWh, with a harvest over 5 tonne straw per hectare. The energy quotient between input energy and the energy harvest amounts to 5,9. Through burning straw you can get double the amount of energy. LRF Skaraborgs straw report “Burning of straw for heating” September 2004, indicates that if all straw that in many years is exported to western Sweden, about 30 000 hectare, would be used for burning it should, in principle, be enough to replace the oil that is used in agriculture to heat housing. Further there are many hectares of fallow and unused fields in western Sweden that could be used for energy production.
Calculations of potential done by KanEnergi commissioned by BYS shows that agriculture in Västra Götaland can take 5,2 TWh renewable energy without reducing animal production and remaining food production. This energy amount is enough to replace nearly 20% of fossil fuels and electricity within household and service sector. If agriculture due to changed price relations between provisions and energy should focus on energy production are there clearly bigger potentials.
Participants
Target group
Those specially interested in development in this area include independent agricultural businesses, LRF, grain business, supplier for machines and necessary materials. They cooperate with big buyers of energy, Västra Götaland regionen and the county committee in Västra Götaland with the environmental responsibility, energy changeover and regional development (growth), agricultures authority Jordbruksverket and Sweden’s Lantbruksuniversitet, SLU.
The project turns firstly to farmers (producers), advisors and counties as representatives for the mass users of energy in Västra Götaland.
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