More than three-quarters of farmers don’t feel the potential for on-farm renewable energy is being met, according to new figures.The finding has come out of an exclusive survey – thought to be the most comprehensive of its kind in the UK – which involved gathering opinion on farm-based renewable energy from nearly 700 farmers across the country.
The ‘Farm as Power Station’ research, involving Nottingham Trent University, Forum for the Future and Farmers Weekly, has shown a rapid increase in the number of farmers embracing energy production in the last three years.
Almost 40% of those who responded to the survey are now using renewables, which is in stark contrast to the finding from a DEFRA survey in 2010, which revealed just 5% of farmers were producing energy.
And of those who don’t currently generate renewable energy on their farms, almost two-thirds (61%) say they are likely to invest in energy generation in the next five years.
But while the survey shows a shift towards farmers becoming energy producers as well as food producers, 76% still don’t believe the potential for renewable energy is being met.
The survey participants identified a number of hurdles towards fulfilling this potential – 84% saw high investment costs as the biggest problem and more than half found the ‘red-tape’ (53%) and cumbersome and costly planning process (52%) to be barriers. Some 45% found opposition from family or community to be a problem.
More than three-quarters (80%) of farmers meanwhile said that a consistent government policy was important in adopting renewable energy practices.
The survey for the project involved gathering responses from farmers across the country.
It showed that the most popular technology currently being used by farmers were solar (66%), wind (30%), and biomass for heat (21%). More than a quarter (27%) would consider leasing their land to energy companies for renewable energy installations, the study showed.
More than half of farmers (53%) had invested in renewable energy for both household and on-farm use and to sell the energy to the open market. For 36% of generators the energy was for use solely on-farm, while 10% generated energy solely to sell on the open market.
Some 76% of farmers felt the main benefit of on-farm renewable energy generation was that it reduced energy costs in the business. This was closely followed by a feeling that it provided a safe means of non-fossil fuel energy (73%) and that it contributed to national energy security (72%). Almost three quarters (71%) felt it provided a good return on investment compared with traditional farming enterprises.
It is hoped that the findings will stimulate discussions and debates and help identify ways to remove the barriers to the uptake of sustainable farm-based energy generation practices across the UK. Findings are due to be presented to government and key stakeholders in the energy industry over the coming weeks.
The researchers say that – given declining farm incomes, rising energy costs, uncertainty in global energy supply and increasing threats from climate change – on-farm energy generation seems vital for the UK.
Professor Eunice Simmons, the Dean of Nottingham Trent University’s School of Animal, Rural and Environmental Sciences, said: “It’s very positive news that renewables are becoming more popular with UK farmers – and this trend looks set to continue over the coming years. It’s clear, however, that more needs to be done by the government in terms of communicating the benefits, developing a more coherent policy and addressing conflicting messages.
“Matching technologies to farms must also be based on an understanding of each farm’s characteristics as a business and its environmental surroundings. However, innovation is needed within the energy system in order to utilise home-sourced, sustainable energy that we know is there. We believe farms have a significant role to play in achieving this.”
Iain Watt, principal sustainability advisor at Forum for the Future, said: “Despite the impressive efforts of many individuals and organisations, the potential of farm-based renewable energy is not yet being fully realised.
“We’d like to see a planning and policy regime that does more to support farm-scale renewables; better financing arrangements; a revamped grid that makes it easy for rural communities to sell their electricity; and an established market for farm-grown green power. We think we can achieve all that and more through coordinated action.”
– Nextgen Energy Week
