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Investing in Renewable Energies for Agriculture - AgroRES

Geographical location
European Union
Finland
Ireland
Lazio
Italy
Poland
Romania
Spain
England
United Kingdom
Keywords
greenhouse gas (GHG)
bioenergy
biogas
green energy
renewable energy resource
solar energy
knowledge exchange
raising awareness
Agricultural sectors
Not relevant
Main funding source
Other rural development funds
Project type
Innovative action
Starting date
2018
End date
2022
Title (in English): 
Investing in Renewable Energies for Agriculture - AgroRES
Language: 
English
Objective of the project (native language): 

The main objective is to develop measures that encourage the production and use of renewable energy in agricultural and rural sectors.

The agricultural sector is responsible for approximately 10 percent of the European Union’s greenhouse gas emissions. As there is a direct relation between cutting the greenhouse gas emissions and increasing the role of the renewable energy production in the energy mix, investments in renewables in the agricultural and rural areas gain a high importance.
Until now, there has not been many or detailed studies on the use and production of renewable energy in the EU agricultural sector. AgroRES will provide a general overview of the impacts of renewable energy and the role they could play in the transition of European agriculture. If the correct policies are implemented and proper support is given, the benefits for farmers and society could be highly substantial.
While there is an enormous potential to produce renewable energy on farms, some significant barriers identified by farmers remain. These include complicated permit and subsidy procedures, high investments costs, limited access to credit, lack of awareness on the benefits of RES and, in some cases, uncertainty about the profitability of these investments. These barriers are reinforced when speaking about small-scale farms, who find investing in renewable energy even more problematic due to the lack of funds.

The AgroRES project creates awareness of the benefits of investing in renewable energy in farms and rural areas, such as gaining independence from the external energy supplies or contributing to a more sustainable energy production. Furthermore, it identifies barriers and challenges connected to these investments. As a result of the know-how gained through the project, partner regions will design policies to support the integration of RE technologies in their regions.
Project's sub-objectives are:
- To increase the capacity and knowledge of project target groups, especially stakeholders and policy-makers, regarding the possibilities of RE investment in agricultural and rural areas.
- To raise general awareness and promote public dialogue to overcome the previously identified barriers and challenges.
- To provide and exchange a number of good practices and experiences in the field that could be transferred to other regions.
- To generate Action Plans that will address some or all of the challenges identified in the partner regions.

Objective of the project (in English): 

The main objective is to develop measures that encourage the production and use of renewable energy in agricultural and rural sectors.

The agricultural sector is responsible for approximately 10 percent of the European Union’s greenhouse gas emissions. As there is a direct relation between cutting the greenhouse gas emissions and increasing the role of the renewable energy production in the energy mix, investments in renewables in the agricultural and rural areas gain a high importance.
Until now, there has not been many or detailed studies on the use and production of renewable energy in the EU agricultural sector. AgroRES will provide a general overview of the impacts of renewable energy and the role they could play in the transition of European agriculture. If the correct policies are implemented and proper support is given, the benefits for farmers and society could be highly substantial.
While there is an enormous potential to produce renewable energy on farms, some significant barriers identified by farmers remain. These include complicated permit and subsidy procedures, high investments costs, limited access to credit, lack of awareness on the benefits of RES and, in some cases, uncertainty about the profitability of these investments. These barriers are reinforced when speaking about small-scale farms, who find investing in renewable energy even more problematic due to the lack of funds.

The AgroRES project creates awareness of the benefits of investing in renewable energy in farms and rural areas, such as gaining independence from the external energy supplies or contributing to a more sustainable energy production. Furthermore, it identifies barriers and challenges connected to these investments. As a result of the know-how gained through the project, partner regions will design policies to support the integration of RE technologies in their regions.
Project's sub-objectives are:
- To increase the capacity and knowledge of project target groups, especially stakeholders and policy-makers, regarding the possibilities of RE investment in agricultural and rural areas.
- To raise general awareness and promote public dialogue to overcome the previously identified barriers and challenges.
- To provide and exchange a number of good practices and experiences in the field that could be transferred to other regions.
- To generate Action Plans that will address some or all of the challenges identified in the partner regions.

Description of activities (in English): 

Project activities include:
- Identification of regional key actors in the agricultural and energy sectors. Each project partner will form a stakeholder group consisting of at least 15 key actors. They will be mobilised and invited to take an active role in the project through exchange of experiences, dissemination and action plan development.
- Interregional events and study visits organised in partner regions. During this events, partners and their stakeholders will get to know good practices on the use of renewable energy in agriculture and rural areas.
- Identification and collection of good practices on the project topic. These practices are successful examples of renewable energy investments in agricultural and rural areas. They will not only focus on energy saving issues, but also on energy self-sufficiency, socioeconomic growth and positive regional development. Each partner collects 10 good practices from their region and shares them with the project consortium. After evaluation, 2 practices per partner region will be studied in more detail.
- A guide of best practices will be published. It will include at least 70 good practices, 14 of which will be explained in more detail.
- Each partner analyses their region’s situation regarding renewable energy investments and use in agriculture. This includes drawing a map of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats in each region. Also renewable energy potential and resources will be studied. This process results in regional self-assessment documents.
- Cross-cut visits will be organised to promote exchange of know-how. Half of the partners will visit other partner regions with the objective of learning more about specific practices identified during the project.
- At the end of this learning process, each project partner produces an action plan. This document outlines how regional development policies and programmes, in particular programmes for Investment for Growth and Jobs, should be improved so that they support the use and generation of renewable energy in agriculture and rural areas more effectively.

Contact e-mail: 
fjgonzalez@agenex.net