Europe possesses renewable energy technologies that can transform agricultural production but fragmented deployment is holding back widespread adoption. Farms across the bloc are already adopting and implementing technologies like solar into their operations, proving that renewable technology can be effective in agriculture.
However, the fragmented nature of these rollouts coupled with a disconnection from the policy and financial conditions affecting many farmers prevents expansion from pilot scale to large scale integration into the sector. The HarvRESt project, a European Union-funded research project, has found that there are several ways to address this issue.
Taking advantage of solar energy would be the first step. Unlike other renewables, solar has the most mature systems and offers the most competitive costs, making it quite scalable. The goal is to ensure solar energy generation can occur alongside food production, and companies like Next2Sun from Germany are pursuing that end.
The German firm has developed vertically mounted bifacial modules that preserve ground level farming space while generating solar energy from both the East and West sides. Autonomous mobile units developed by H2arvester, a Dutch startup, can also prevent the permanent use of farmland to generate solar energy by moving to different fields seasonally and even facilitating onsite energy storage by producing hydrogen.
Wind energy, on the other hand, remains underdeveloped in the agricultural sector. While the technology can be effective in agricultural settings, business models that are friendly to farmers still haven’t matured.
Dutch firm Ecoways is working to fix this issue by developing compact wind turbines that are built with larch wood, a local raw material, and designed to blend into rural farming landscapes naturally. The company has developed a hybrid system that leverages energy storage, solar, and wind to ensure a near round-the-clock supply of energy in areas with moderate electricity demand.
Practical ownership structures coupled with financial accessibility will be key to scaling up wind energy in Europe’s agricultural industry.
Biomass could also have a role in supplying clean energy and making European farmers more self reliant. Both biogas and biomass energy contribute to green energy mixes in the EU but their adoption is still uneven in medium and small sized farms.
MicroBiogasItalia, an Italian startup co-founded in 2017, has developed mini digesters that can generate heat and electricity from animal manure, enabling small farms to cut their energy bills and reduce emissions. Such systems could significantly boost biomass accessibility across Europe at relatively low costs and allow farmers with limited access to large scale biomass projects to take advantage of biomass energy.
Ultimately, proper and equitable financing will be critical to ensuring these technologies are accessible to the farmers who need them and stand to benefit the most. Long term market confidence and policy stability will be key to unlocking financing for green technology adoption in Europe’s agricultural segment.
Furthermore, a framework for pushing pilot projects into the mainstream will allow millions of farms across the European Union to adopt renewable energy technology, reduce their emissions, and gain energy self-reliance.
With other climate-friendly technologies championed by companies like Bollinger Innovations, Inc. (OTC: BINI) gaining traction in different markets, the scaling up of green energy in agriculture can only amplify efforts geared at bringing climate change under control while empowering communities.
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