Energy Efficiency in Powering Agriculture

Overview

The global potential for energy savings is enormous, reaching up to 50% in developing countries and transition economies. This page shall serve as an overview page of articles relating to energy efficiency within the agriculture and food sector.

Basics of Energy Efficiency

Energy conersions always imply energy losses. Converting energy from one from into another is necessary for utilising energy. For instance, in lift irrigation: A diesel engine converts chemical energy of oil into mechanical energy for powering the shaft of a pump. This pump then converts shaft power into potential energy of water by bringing the water to a higher height. Energy conversion is also necessary for energy generation: A solar PV cell generates energy by converting radiation energy into electricity. Within the conversion a share of energy is lost. This leads to the concept of energey effifiency.

The efficiency of an energy converter (e.g. solar cell, turbine, motor) is defined as the quantity of energy in the desired form (the output energy) divided by the quantity of energy put in for conversion (the input energy).

Energy Efficiency

Energy efficiency is an integral part of sustainable energy management in order to reduce energy consumption and decouple it from economic growth.

Energy efficiency can lead to ecological and economic win-win situations. Lower costs for industry increase both competitiveness and job security. Also private households benefit, an impact that particularly benefits the poorer segments of a community, who frequently spend a disproportionately large portion of their income on energy. Further, everyone benefits from the positive effects on the climate and environment that result from lower greenhouse gas emissions and the reduced consumption of natural resources (GIZ, Energy Efficiency).

Energy efficiency measures must target areas where energy is actually “consumed”: energy production, transmission and distribution, buildings, industry, private households, municipal facilities, and the transport sector. One key sector is the agriculture and food sector, which consumes about 30% of the global energy. Thus, improving energy efficiency in agriculture is essential to reduce energy demand and hence reduce costs. Further, improved energy efficiency redcues reliance on fossil fuels and therefore contributes to reducing GHG emissions.

Energy Efficiency of Agricultural Processes

Energy demand can be reduced in all agricultural processes where energy is used, by appropriate technology changes, as well as by improved management and operations.

Irrigation systems present one of many examples. Irrigated agriculture is a crucial part of global agriculture, increasing productivity significantly. However, it is under pressure to adopt best practices to improve efficiency in terms of water use and energy costs.

Cooling and heating constitute further examples. For instance, greenhouse heating can be essential for the year-round production of fruit, vegetables or flowers. Temperature controlled storage and refrigeration systems are also crucial for example in the horticulture and vegetable industry, but consume considerable amounts of electricity. According to Bundschuh and Chen (2014) improvements to technical elements and operation of modern refrigeration systems have the potential to reduce energy consumption by 15-40%.

Generally, the energy efficiency of all electrical devices applied in agriculture can be potentially increased, e.g. LED lamps etc.

Project Examples

• Efficient Stoves for Producing Shea Butter
  
• Smart Energy Concept Chile
  
• Energy Efficiency Potentials in the Kenyan Tea Sector
  

Further Information

• Powering Agriculture portal on energypedia
• All "Energy Efficiency" related articles on energypedia