Energy Positive Farm

Closed

Mechanized agriculture uses fertilizers made with fossile energy and consumes directly fossile energy in running the machinery and processes. Agriculture produces emissions both to air and water when using fossile energy. Agriculture has the possibility to give up partly or totally fossile energy usage. Besides that it has a possibilty to produce bioenergy for consumption and in this case the farm is energy positive. The project is aimed at decreasing fossile energy usage and at the same time also emissions from agriculture are reduced. This will preserve nature when emissions to the water and to the air are reduced. An essential part of the project is to choose real farms with different production lines for case studies. By analysing their energy balance and green house gas effects energy efficient and low emisson production customs can be introduced. These methods are demonstrated in public and the tools developed during the project are taken into educations and advisory systems. WP1: Project management and coordination WP2. Energy need and energy resources on Finnish and Estonian farms. In this part both plant and animal production energy and GHG analysis are performed. This analysis will reveal the most energy demanding items and energy saving can be started from these. Case farms both from Estonia and Finland will be searched and energy and GHG analysis will be done for these farms. Farm energy sources and the possibility to use own energy or to sell energy will be analysed. Energy consumption measurement systems will be installed on the farms. WP3. Energy saving possibilities of case farms The methods developed in the former work package will be taken into use at the case farms. Possibilities to save energy or to use renewalbe energy will be intoroduced. WP4. A vision fo enregy self-sufficiency of farms in 2020 The result of the project will be gathered to vision of future farm. This vision will act as a roadmap to energyh positive farms. The project starts with the methdological items (WP2) and after these has been agreed it continues with practical analyses, advisory work and measurements. After this energy saving methods are introduced and renewable energy plans are made for case farms. The result from these analyses and measurements will be the outcome of the project. The results will contirubute to a cleaner environment and better waste utilization. It will advance the economical situation of rural area in reducing energy use and production costs and in finding new business possibilities (biofuel/bioenergy).

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