Market Information
Renewable Energy and Agriculture:
A Natural Fit
Agriculture is the sole provider of human food. Most farm machines are driven by fossil fuels, which contribute to greenhouse gas emissions and, in turn, accelerate climate change. Such environmental damage can be mitigated by the promotion of renewable resources such as solar, wind, biomass, tidal, geo-thermal, small-scale hydro, biofuels and wave-generated power.
�ese renewable resources have a huge potential for the agriculture industry. �e farmers should be encouraged by subsidies to use renewable energy technology. �e concept of sustainable agriculture lies on a delicate balance of maximizing crop productivity and maintaining economic stability, while minimizing the utilization of nite natural resources and detrimental environmental impacts.
Sustainable agriculture also depends on replenishing the soil while minimizing the use of non-renewable resources, such as natural gas, which is used in converting atmospheric nitrogen into synthetic fertilizer, and mineral ores, e. g. phosphate or fossil fuel used in diesel generators for water pumping for irrigation.
Hence, there is a need for promoting use of renewable energy systems for sustainable agriculture, e. g. solar photovoltaic water pumps and electricity, greenhouse technologies, solar dryers for post-harvest processing, and solar hot water heaters. In remote agricultural lands, the underground submersible solar photovoltaic water pump is economically viable and also an environmentally-friendly option as compared with a diesel generator set. If there are adverse climatic conditions for the growth of particular plants in cold climatic zones then there is need for renewable energy technology such as greenhouses for maintaining the optimum plant ambient temperature conditions for the growth of plants and vegetables.
Wind Power
Wind technologies provide mechanical and electrical energy. Wind turbines operate on a simple principle: Wind turns rotor blades, which drive an electric generator, turning the kinetic energy of the wind into electrical energy.
Farms have long used wind power to pump water and generate electricity. Recently, wind developers have installed large wind turbines on farms and ranches in a number of states to provide power to electric companies and consumers. Small wind systems can serve agriculture in traditional ways, such as using mechanical energy to pump water or grind grain. As costs decrease, small systems used to generate electricity may also become economically efficient by avoiding the expense of installing transmission wires, especially in more remote applications. Where connected to the electricity distribution grid, small windmills can generate revenue through electricity sales when generation exceeds internal
January- February 2017
FARMERS
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