The South Wales & Three Counties Herald’s Supplement
THE FARMING
EXPRESS
UK farm renewables challenges echoed across Europe
Farmers across Europe are wrestling with the
same pluses and pitfalls of renewable energy, according to researchers.
Speaking at last month's All-Energy exhibition
and conference in Aberdeen, researchers from the
city's James Hutton Institute compared renewable
energy production in Aberdeenshire, the Wendland-Elbetal region of Germany, and Vysocina in
the Czech Republic.
A common issue in all three countries was opposition from local communities and pressure groups,
said senior social scientist Lee-Ann Sutherland.
Anti-AD protestors objected to maize monoculture
and potential smell, while in the Czech Republic
people got particularly irate about the effect of
renewables subsidies on overall energy prices, she
said.
"Recently we've found that Scottish farmers have
become much more proactive in working with
their local communities, especially talking about
their plans ahead of time and on a one-to-one
basis," said Dr Sutherland.
All three countries seemed to face the same perceived problem of "saturation" before renewables
technologies had been implemented on the majority of farms - owing as much to public acceptance
as to physical limitations.
In addition, technology and installation costs were
rising, subsidies were being squeezed, competition
from energy companies was growing, and profits
were by no means assured, she said.
"It's not like many technologies, where the
pioneers take the risks and the followers reap the
rewards. We're witnessing something of a 'bandwagon effect', but farmers need to be careful not
to jump on without being very sure of the business
case."
Comparing the three countries
In Germany and the Czech Republic anaerobic
digestion predominated, and, in contrast to the
UK, biogas technology there had mostly been
developed on farms. Germany now had more than
7,000 anaerobic digesters and the Czech Republic 260, of which 95% were farm-based, said Dr
Sutherland.
"Many farmers see biogas production as a way of
'future-proofing' their farms," she said.
Selling electricity into the grid and waste heat to
local homes created a more diversified income,
and "free" fertiliser and heating for greenhouses
reduced farmers' exposure to spiralling prices.
However, AD could fundamentally change the
use of a farm, especially if maize was grown in
quantity to feed the digester.
Aberdeenshire's farmers preferred wind technology, partly because it was simpler and also because
they couldn't easily grow maize, she added.
"It's becoming a prestige thing, too. Having a wind
turbine on your land is seen as a sign that you're a
good businessperson.
"We've also found that, once farmers get involved
in one form of renewable energy, they tend to
expand it or go into something else, such as solar
panels or biomass heating. It opens your eyes to
what you can achieve."
Even hydrogen was on the radar. "Several farmers
see a future for hydrogen cars, vans and tractors, run on energy produced on-farm," added Dr
Sutherland.