Powering agriculture with renewable energy [compatibility mode]

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Powering Agriculture with renewable energy By AbhinavBhaskar * Most of the information is taken from poweringag.org

Transcript of Powering agriculture with renewable energy [compatibility mode]

Page 1: Powering agriculture with renewable energy [compatibility mode]

Powering Agriculture with

renewable energy By Abhinav Bhaskar

* Most of the information is taken from poweringag.org

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Challenges faced by Agriculture and power sector

� The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization projects that by 2050 global food production will need to increase 70 percent over 2005–2007 levels to meet the demand of a growing world population expected to reach 9.6 billion people.

� Agri-food supply chain accounts for 30% of the world’s energy consumption as reported by the International Renewable Energy Agency.

� Achieving universal energy access

� De-coupling from fossil fuels

� Producing and consuming energy more efficiently

� Minimizing costly waste

� Preserving natural resource base

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Energy demand for agriculture (small holders and enterprise )

� Energy for transport

� Energy for production

� Energy for Irrigation

� Energy for storage

� Energy for post processing of food items like drying , peeling etc

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Types of energy used in a farm

� Electrical energy: suitable for powering water pumps, milling machines, fridges

� Mechanical energy: suitable for production and processing e.g. for harvesters or

tractors. Water supply,

� Thermal energy: suitable for different value-adding processes e.g. cooking,

drying, cooling (thermally driven cooling systems)

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Agricultural energy use in India as percentage of total energy use

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

4

4.5

1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010

Agricultural energy use

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Use of energy sources and income levels

End use Household income

Low Medium High

Household

Cooking Wood, residues, dung Wood, charcoal, dung, kerosene, biogasWood, charcoal, coal, kerosene,

biogas, LPG, electricity

Lighting Candles and kerosene Candles, kerosene, gasoline Kerosene, electricity, gasoline

Space heating Wood, residues, dung Wood, charcoal, dung Wood, charcoal, dung, coal

Other appliances Batteries (if any) Electricity, batteries Electricity, batteries

Agriculture

Tilling Human Animal Animal, gasoline, diesel

Irrigation Human Animal, wind pumps Diesel, electricity

Post-harvest processing Human, sun drying Animal, water mills, sun drying Diesel, electricity, solar drying

Rural Industry

Mechanical tools Human Human, animal Human, animal, diesel, electricity

Process heat Wood, residues Coal, charcoal, wood, residuesCoal, charcoal, wood, kerosene,

residues

Transport

Motive power Human Human, animal Human, animal, diesel, gasoline

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Case studies on use of

renewable energy in

agriculture

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Cold storages

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Biogas powered milk chiilers : Simgas , Tnazania

� The emerging dairy industry in East Africa affects the livelihoods of more than 2

million smallholder farmers

� While demand is expected to more than double in coming years, only 15 percent

of milk produced reaches the formal market and 30–50 percent is not delivered

to milk collection centers.

� The reason being that raw milk is not cooled at farm level because 85 percent of

rural East Africa lacks access to a (reliable) power grid.

� SimGas is developing the first off-grid, biogas-powered milk chiller at farm level

to help milk supply meet demand: the SimGas Biogas Milk Chiller (BMC).

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Technology

� BMC runs on biogas, produced with an on-farm biogas digester.

� Amount of manure produced by a cow creates enough biogas to refrigerate her

own milk, while leaving enough biogas to cook a meal for the household.

� Empower small dairy farmers to guide their own development; the BMC can

greatly improve the income of small dairy farmers, help supply to meet demand,

help farmers to access the formal dairy market, and contribute to improved

nutrition.

� Video link to the innovation : http://poweringag.org/news-events/video/biogas-

milk-chilling-increase-productivity-incomes-dairy-farmers-simgas

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Solar powered chilling with thermal backup-Promethean, India

� Promethean Power Systems designs and manufactures refrigeration systems coupled to their thermal batteries for agricultural commercial refrigeration applications in off-grid and partially electrified areas of developing countries

� Promethean is working in partnership with the Hatsun Argo—India’s largest private dairy company, and Orb Energy—a leading solar energy system provider in India.

� In India, $10 billion worth of perishable foods are wasted annually because of unreliable cold-chain supply networks.

� Major obstacle in setting up cold chain networks is the lack of reliable electricity to run refrigeration systems in villages and farming areas. Diesel generators are often used to provide electricity for milk chilling, a non-ideal solution with high operating costs and negative environmental impact

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Technology

� Thermal energy battery pack that charges on intermittent power sources such as

solar power and/or a few hours of grid electricity.

� Dairy processors can collect raw milk from remote dairy farmers and keep it cold

in a rapid milk cooler, reducing the time that milk is unchilled by 75 percent.

� Promethean will design and deploy the refrigeration systems in collaboration

with India’s largest private dairy and one of India’s largest solar installers.

� Video link : http://poweringag.org/news-events/video/making-thermal-battery-

makes-milk-safer-promethean-power

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Other solution providers

� Sundazer

� Rebound technologies

� Ecozen

� TESSOL

� Clique solar

� TERI

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Offgrid power

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Off grid power with rice husk and Solar PV- Husk power systems

� Husk Power Systems is a rural empowerment enterprise. It focuses on inclusive

rural development on the backbone of electric power.

� Creates a self-sustaining ecosystem in the villages it serves, enabling economic

development along with environmental protection, physical well-being and

strengthening of the rural communities.

� Further reading :

http://www.huskpowersystems.com/innerPage.php?pageT=Community%20Impa

ct&page_id=81

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Technology

� Husk Power will install a hybrid solution that combines a biomass gasification

system with a solar PV system. The biomass plant uses a proprietary downdraft

gasification technology that converts abundant agricultural residue into

electricity.

� Agricultural uses that will be powered include irrigation pumps, agro-processing

mills, and drying and heating processes. The biomass plant converts abundant

agricultural residue, such as maize cobs, rice husks, coffee husks, and cotton

stalks, into electricity.

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Renewable Microgrids for Off-Grid Fish Hatcheries and Surrounding Communities-IDE , Bangladesh

� International Development Enterprises (iDE) has over 30 years’ experience in

designing and delivering market based anti-poverty programs.

� Implemented in partnership with Renewable World—a UK-based charity tackling

poverty using renewable energy.

� Off-grid fish hatcheries in Bangladesh, and their surrounding communities, rely

extensively on diesel and kerosene to provide electricity needed to pump water

and provide light.

� The households around hatcheries typically rear fish in small ponds, using

fingerlings from the hatchery for part of the year.

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� The proposed solution will replace diesel generation with a micro-grid powered

by economically viable renewable sources

� The system will power hatchery water pumping activities and provide household-

level renewable power through an innovative metering technology. The mobile

metering and billing system will allow users to pay for their electricity using

mobile money, either pre- or post-usage.

� Video link :http://poweringag.org/news-events/video/renewable-microgrids-

grid-fish-hatcheries-surrounding-communities-ide-Bangladesh

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Irrigation

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Low-Cost Pay-Per-Use Irrigation Using Solar Trolley Systems- Claro systems , India

� Claro Energy provides off-grid solar power pumping solutions to power-deficient

regions in India

� In India, the availability of irrigation water is dependent on monsoon patterns or

the availability of power to operate ground water pumps.

� Many villages lack access to electricity. Given this lack of electricity, diesel pumps

are often the most reliable means to pump the water that is used for irrigation.

� The use of diesel fuel has many drawbacks, including environmental pollution, as

well as ever-increasing costs which have a negative impact on farmers’ economic

prosperity.

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� Claro energy offers a pay-per-use irrigation service that uses a portable solar

pump.

� The portable design will provide affordable, convenient, and on-demand

irrigation

� The service will meet the needs of a wide range of farmers who do not own

pumps, with no upfront capital costs incurred. The farmer will call a toll-free line,

pre-pay, and schedule irrigation service at his field.

� Video link : http://poweringag.org/news-events/video/low-cost-pay-use-

irrigation-using-solar-trolley-systems-claro

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A Hydroponic Green Farming Initiative- Eco consult , Jordan

� Jordan is considered to be one of the ten most water-scarce countries in the

world.

� As water becomes scarcer, its availability for agriculture is expected to decrease.

Hydroponic technology, an intensive form of agriculture, uses much less water

than conventional farming and offers an excellent opportunity for farmers to

increase their income while reducing their water use. Although farmers have

expressed their interest in this new technology, its application in Jordan is still

limited.

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� ECO Consult has developed an integrated model of hydroponic and photovoltaic

farming to compete with conventional greenhouse technology and drip irrigation

systems.

� To make the technology attractive to large-scale commercial farms, ECO Consult

will retrofit a multi-span greenhouse with advanced hydroponic technologies and

photovoltaic panels to generate enough power to operate the lighting, pumping,

and air moderation systems.

� Video link : http://poweringag.org/news-events/video/laith-al-waked-eco-

consult-winning-2013-award

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Food Processing

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Solar Agro-Processing Power Stations-Village infrastructure angels

� Many small, rural villages and towns are off grid, with limited or no access to

reliable sources of electricity.

� Agro-processing is a productive end use of electricity for which a large gap

currently exists. Small villages typically do not have access to a diesel mill for crop

processing, and must rely on manual processing, or travel long distances to use a

mill.

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� VIA plans to install solar mills in villages in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, and Vanuatu.

� These mills will deliver services to up to 10,000 households. Small mills will be installed, with an appropriate capacity for the village, through a microfinancing program.

� The mills will be used to process staple crops, such as rice, corn, and cassava, that require processing before eating, and make up the majority of the diet of rural villagers.

� Video link :http://poweringag.org/news-events/video/solar-agro-processing-power-stations-village-infrastructure-angels

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Solar air drying – Various case studies

� Drying is an important form of food preservation that is often carried out at farm level

right after harvest, or especially with highly perishable crops, at peak harvest time when

local markets are saturated.

� Open-air or unimproved drying :Food is exposed to the sun and wind by placing it in

trays, on racks, or on the ground. Advantage of drying products directly open-air is that

almost no costs for fuel and appliances have to be spent by the farmer. However, the

dried products are often of lower quality due to varying temperature levels and

contamination of the products with dust, vermin’s and leafs.

� 70 per cent of agricultural products spoil during the traditional process of open-air

drying, especially in tropical and subtropical regions [http://www.innotech-

ing.de/Innotech/english/Processing.html].

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Solar /Biomass Dryer

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Solar air drying

� Initial investment is required but no expenditure is incurred on fuels.

� Heats air by collecting solar infrared radiation

� The air is circulated in the drying chamber which removes moisture from the agricultural produce.

� Keeps the food free from dust, insect and rains

� Typical payback time for the dryer is 2-3 years

� Initial investment depends upon the size of the unit . Typically a 50 Kg capacity unit with forced convection can cost INR 50000

� Box type solar air dryers are available at cheaper prices [http://www.cazri.res.in/itmu/pdf/Solar%20dryer%20for%20vegetables%20and%20fruits.pdf]

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Project examples : Coffee processing with solar dryers in Peru

Picture: Drying within a solar dryer protects the

yield against spoiling by rain or wind and animals.

(Juan Carlos Quiroz, GIZ EnDev Peru)

The tent out of the protective plastic film

increases the drying process extremly. (Juan

Carlos Quiroz, GIZ EnDev Peru)

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Drying peaches with solar air dryer in Bolivia

Further information about the project is

available at :

http://www.produse.org/imglib/downloads/en

ergy_sources/PRODUSE-Factsheet-Bolivia.pdf

Solar air tunnel dryer developed in India by

CAZRI. More details about the project can be

found here :

http://www.fao.org/fileadmin/user_upload/

fsn/docs/Local_Tunnel_Solar_Drier.pdf

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Drying chilli peppers in Peru

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Way forward

� Mapping energy needs of smallholders and agri-food chains.

� Appropriate delivery models for low-cost technology and services specific to

smallholder needs and context

� Linking ‘productive uses’ with sustainable resource management

� Addressing bottlenecks to take-up new technologies or farming practices (capacity,

finance, maintenance and repair services, market access, land rights)

� Promoting energy literacy among farmer organisations

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Resources

� http://agtech.partneringforinnovation.org/welcome : The AgTechXChange is the

premier community for advancing agricultural technologies for smallholder

farmers

� https://www.giz.de/expertise/html/18089.html :Sustainable Energy for Food –

Powering Agriculture

� Poweringag.org : An Energy Grand Challenge for Development seeks to identify

and support new and sustainable approaches to accelerate the development and

deployment of clean energy solutions for increasing agriculture productivity

and/or value in developing countries.