Farmers could be major players in creating a low-carbon energy system if barriers to investing in renewable energy were removed, a new report has said today.
The Farm Power coalition, made up of farming bodies and NGOs, has released a report today calling on supermarkets to buy more farm-generated energy.
Research, carried out by sustainability NGO Forum for the Future and Nottingham Trent University, found there is at least 10GW of untapped resource across UK farms – equivalent to more than three times the capacity of the proposed new nuclear power plant at Hinkley Point.
To achieve this potential the report said that farmers need more reliable access to grid connections and supportive planning, as well as more accessible information about how to become an energy producer.
“Farms and rural communities can make a significant contribution to the sustainable energy mix but we need to collaborate to make it happen,” said head of technology for the National Grid, Neil Hughes.
Jonathan Scurlock, chief adviser for renewable energy and climate change at the NFU, said: “The NFU strongly endorses farm diversification into renewable energy, for export as well as for self-supply, where it supports profitable farming and underpins traditional agricultural production.
“We recognise that low-carbon energy production can actually enhance our national food security for only a modest land take, and the additional returns from renewables make farm businesses more resilient and better able to manage volatility in both the weather and in farm prices..”
Chair of Waitrose's flagship farm, Leckford Estates, Lord Curry, said: “The Farm Power coalition is such an important initiative. It is bringing together key players in the industry to help provide direction to unlocking some of the many barriers that are currently impeding uptake, as well as a vision to the potential that farms could deliver for the UK.
“It’s in all our interests to get behind this and champion the benefits, and opportunity, that renewable energy technologies can bring to society and farming.”
Farm Power was founded by Forum for the Future, Farmers Weekly and Nottingham Trent University, and is guided by a committee made up of National Grid, United Utilities and the NFU.
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