How can farmers benefit from sustainable energy and energy efficiency?

1. Sustainable Energy
Down on the Farm
March 2011
COABC Annual Conference
Guy Dauncey

2. www.certifiedorganic.bc.ca

3. We’ve come a long way from this….

4. To this …

5. but…

6. We’ve also come to this…
©Smithore Dreamstime.com

8. Is our whole world being contaminated?

9. The Great Transition
Humanity's Journey to Harmony with the Earth

10. We need…
A Green Economy
Harmony
with Nature
True Sustainability

11. We need…
A 100% Shift to
Renewable
Energy
©Martinedegraaf Dreamstime.com

13. Sustainable Energy
Down on the Farm
Farm
Energy Vehicles Buildings Equipment
Audit
Solar
Solar Wind Microhydro
Hot Water
Soil
Biogas/
Biofuels Biochar Carbon
Methane
Storage

14. Sustainable Energy
Down on the Farm
Farm
Energy Vehicles Buildings Equipment
Audit
Solar
Solar Wind Microhydro
Hot Water
Soil
Biogas/
Biofuels Biochar Carbon
Methane
Storage

15. 27 farms assessed in 2010. Final report due soon.
Emily MacNair, BC Agriculture and Food Climate Action Initiative
250-356-1666 Emily@bcagclimateaction.ca.
www.bcagclimateaction.ca.

16. www.bcagclimateaction.ca

17. www.ruralenergy.wisc.edu
Zip Code 98236

19. Sustainable Energy
Down on the Farm
Farm
Energy Vehicles Buildings Equipment
Audit
Solar
Solar Wind Microhydro
Hot Water
Soil
Biogas/
Biofuels Biochar Carbon
Methane
Storage

21. The Sun is rapidly setting
on the Age of Fossil Fuels.

22. This
10,000 10,000
years past years future
is the
Age of Fossil Fuels

24. Is this the future?

26. “In recognition of the
coming oil prices, I
name this ship……

27. Cultivating one hectare of corn in the US
requires 40 litres of gasoline and 75 litres of diesel
US yield = 9 tonnes/hectare
1 tonne requires 12 litres of fuel
Chilliwack corn harvest

32. John Deere 8430 PST

33. Electric Tractor

34. Glynwood Farm, Cold Spring, New York
GE Elec Trak, small electric tractor
originally sold in the 1970s.
Recharges from normal outlet or solar
panels.
Front-mounted mower deck, three-foot roto-
tiller
Annual cost savings $300-$400

35. 20-horse power Tuff Bilt tractor converted
to all-electric cultivating tractor
35 cents/hour vs $2/hour

36. Electric Tractor
AA Technologies, Georgia
www.aatev.com

37. Canadian Electric Vehicles
Errington, BC www.canev.com
1500 lb capacity
15-25 mph
90 km range

38. Case IH Biodiesel Tractor

39. New Holland Fuel Cell Tractor
106 HP

40. DIY Biodiesel

41. Biodiesel FuelPod 3
100 litres a day - 70 cents a gallon
$6,495
20 cents a litre

42. Essex Farm, New York State
“We currently farm 600 acres and feed 222 members. We are powered by
fifteen solar panels, nine draft horses, ten full-time farmers, and three tractors.
We do not use synthetic fertilizer, herbicide, or pesticide. Our animals eat feed
we’ve grown ourselves or local hay and local, certified organic grain.”
www.kristinkimball.com/essex-farm

43. The old becomes the new….

44. Baling Hay
To grow biofuel for all the tractors in America would use 26% of America’s
cropland. Using horses would require 11%.
An economic comparison of traditional and conventional agricultural systems at a
county level, M.H. Bender, American Journal of Alternative Agriculture, Dec. 15, 2000,
Vol 16 www.landinstitute.org/pages/Bender%20AJAA%202000.pdf

45. Sustainable Energy
Down on the Farm
Farm
Energy Vehicles Buildings Equipment
Audit
Solar
Solar Wind Microhydro
Hot Water
Soil
Biogas/
Biofuels Biochar Carbon
Methane
Storage

46. • Insulation
• Farm building walls +R20 ceilings +R30
• Caulking & weatherstripping
• Tight fitting windows in farm buildings
• Air-source or ground-source heat
• Heat-recovery ventilators
• Thermostats & timers
• Lighting
• LiveSmart incentives at www.livesmartbc.ca

47. Glynwood Farm, Cold Spring, New York
In the winter of 2008, we replaced the more traditional forced-
hot-air heating unit in our main greenhouse with an innovative
radiant heating system that uses a propane hot water heater
and a circulating pump that sends the hot water through flexible
tubing on the greenhouse benches.
80% savings on the cost of heating our greenhouse - repays in
less than two years
Because the plants are heated at the root zone immediately on
top of the tubing, the result is much stronger seedling
production, and higher yields.

48. Solar Greenhouses
Vermont Herb and Salad Company
Two 30 x 90 heated greenhouses
for starting seedlings and winter
greens production
Four 30 x 100 unheated
greenhouses for in-season
production of leafy greens

49. Vermont Herb and Salad Company
Two 30 x 90 heated greenhouses
Sequoyah Model E3400 Gasification Outdoor Wood Furnace
Cost $11,500 + renovations $4,000 Total cost $30,000
Pressurized hot water distributed by pex tubing + heat exchanger
Normally: 1200 gallons of oil a month through 4 months of winter.
$3/gallon = $3600 a month
Wood furnace: half a cord/day = $750/month.
Total fuel saving = $14,000 a year

50. Bubble Insulated Greenhouse
30 inches soap bubbles = R-30
Pioneered by Ross and Kat Elliot in Perth, Ontario
10-12 month growing season in Yukon

51. Eliot Coleman
Four-season harvest
Maine

53. www.storeitcold.com
CoolBot replaces the brute force of fans and surface area with a micro-controller
brain that interfaces with your air conditioner.
It controls and co-ordinates its output so that you can access nearly all your
cooling power, with temperatures in the 30's without re-wiring or freeze-ups.

54. Sustainable Energy
Down on the Farm
Farm
Energy Vehicles Buildings Equipment
Audit
Solar
Solar Wind Microhydro
Hot Water
Soil
Biogas/
Biofuels Biochar Carbon
Methane
Storage

55. Dairy farm electrical energy savings potential

56. Lighting
Sealed compact fluorescent lighting in the barn provides a superior
lighting environment compared to incandescent
Savings = $1,500 a year
Add photoperiodic control system with sensor and timer to dim or shut
off lights when not needed

57. Poultry Barn Lighting
66% electrical saving
= $3,800 saved
per barn per year
(A) infrared tube heaters
(B) sealed fluorescent
lighting
(C) photocell lighting control
(D) chimney fan

58. Heat Pads
www.omafra.gov.on.c
a

59. Variable speed drive pump - operates at 30%
of load for 90% of the time

60. Mayval Farm, Westhampton, Massachusetts
The milk is so cool entering the bulk tank that the refrigeration
compressors cycle off during milking time
www.energy.blog.state.ma.us/blog/farm-based-energy

61. (A) variable frequency drive
(B) power filter on the variable frequency drive
(C) variable frequency drive vacuum pump

62. Ceiling of the milking parlour:
5 lamp 4 foot T-8 fluorescent lighting fixtures
+ high volume, low velocity circulation fan
100% more airflow (cubic feet per minute)
50% energy savings = $400 savings pa.
Add dimmers and motion sensors

63. Sustainable Energy
Down on the Farm
Motors - use 18% of all energy use on the farm
Refrigeration - can be fitted with heat recovery units - milk
pre-coolers - scroll compressors - water cooled plate
coolers - variable speed milk pumps
Dairy - refrigeration heat recovery, precoolers, high
efficiency heaters, scroll refrigeration compressors.
Greenhouse - heaters, boilers, thermal curtains, glazing
Potato storage - variable speed drives on storage
ventilation - energy savings up to 65%, decreased shrinkage
of potatoes

64. www.omafra.gov.on.ca

67. www.geopathfinder.com/9473.html

68. NRG Solar Dryer
Experimental.
Mumbai, India

69. Solar dryer for mushroom drying, Itola, India

70. Laughing Stock Farm, Montana
Biodiesel heated greenhouse

72. Sustainable Energy
Down on the Farm
Farm
Energy Vehicles Buildings Equipment
Audit
Solar
Solar Wind Microhydro
Hot Water
Soil
Biogas/
Biofuels Biochar Carbon
Methane
Storage

73. Sustainable Energy
Down on the Farm
No incentives in BC
Cost = $8,000 per kW
1 kW = 1,100 kWh a year
@ 8 cents = $88 pa saving

74. The Price of Solar PV

76. Solar electric fencing

77. Solar water pump

78. Solar irrigation, California

79. Solar wall
Steve Veldman, 75 cow dairy farm, Ontario
Cost in 1990: $1200. Never has to heat the building

80. Sustainable Energy
Down on the Farm
Farm
Energy Vehicles Buildings Equipment
Audit
Solar
Solar Wind Microhydro
Hot Water
Soil
Biogas/
Biofuels Biochar Carbon
Methane
Storage

81. Wind energy and its
applications for BC’s
agriculture sector
Agri-Energy Forum
Pacific Agriculture Show
TRADEX Abbotsford Airport
Abbotsford, B.C.
January 27, 2011
Nicholas Heap, BC Policy Manager
#200 - 420 W. Hastings St.
Vancouver, BC V6B 1L1
(800) 922-6932 x244
(604) 351-7067
nicholasheap@canwea.ca

82. What’s so good about wind power
for the agriculture sector?
• Large wind:
– A reliable, long term source of income.
– A high value “cash crop” in terms of income per
hectare.
• Community wind:
– Provides energy independence
– Can increase reliability (hybrid wind/diesel or
wind/battery systems)
• Small wind:
Photo: Tim Weis, Pembina Institute
82
– Can be lowest-cost option for off-grid applications

83. Where BC’s wind is:
mesoscale model
Northeast
Note: these low
resolution models
miss some good
wind sites
Northern Interior
Southern Interior
North Coast
x
Source: BC Hydro

84. Where BC’s wind is:
investigative permits
Note: You know
more about the
wind on your
land than anyone
Source: BC Hydro

85. Small-size residential systems
1 kW to 10 kW
• Market and prospects
– On-grid residential, net metered systems can provide
10% to 150% of house electricity
– 300 - 400 systems in Canada to date
– Buyer motivation: environmental interests,
longer-term paybacks
• Typical application
– Roughly $7,000 - $8,000 per kW
– Capacity factor : 15% - 20% for a well-sited system
– 10 kW installation: $70,000 = 15 MWh per year
– A 1 kW installation: $7,000 = ~ 1 MWh per year
Photos: Cascadia Pacific Realty / Pembina Institute

86. Mid-sized farm systems
(10 kW to 100 kW)
• Market and prospects
– On-grid farm systems can provide >50%
of electricity
– Under 100 systems in Canada to date
– Buyer motivation: stable long-term cost of
electricity, interest in energy independence
• Typical application
– Roughly $5,500 - $6,500 per kW
– Capacity factor : 15% - 20% for a well-sited system
– A 50 kW installation: $250,000 providing 87 MWh per year
(enough for 8 average homes)
Photos: Cascadia Pacific Realty / Pembina Institute

88. About CanWEA
• For more information and resources on
wind www.canwea.ca

89. Sustainable Energy
Down on the Farm
Farm
Energy Vehicles Buildings Equipment
Audit
Solar
Solar Wind Microhydro
Hot Water
Soil
Biogas/
Biofuels Biochar Carbon
Methane
Storage

90. Microhydro energy

95. Sustainable Energy
Down on the Farm
Farm
Energy Vehicles Buildings Equipment
Audit
Solar
Solar Wind Microhydro
Hot Water
Soil
Biogas/
Biofuels Biochar Carbon
Methane
Storage

97. Evacuated tube, solar thermal hot water system provides
high temperature hot water for dairy and cheese-making,
combined with hot water refrigerant heat recovery tank
Appleton Farms (CSA) Hamilton/Ipswich.
1000 acre dairy, livestock, vegetables, grain, cheese-making.
energy.blog.state.ma.us/blog/farm-based-energy

98. 400 ft 1/2 inch poly pipe in box
6 mil plastic
with 2”construction foam backing
Enough for family of four on sunny days
150F hot water
Cost $100, 12 hours labour
Not for winter use (water, not glycol)
Annie’s Acres, CSA Farm, Wisconsin

99. Sustainable Energy
Down on the Farm
Farm
Energy Vehicles Buildings Equipment
Audit
Solar
Solar Wind Microhydro
Hot Water
Soil
Biogas/
Biofuels Biochar Carbon
Methane
Storage

100. Sandia National Laboratories, 2009

101. Miscanthus Sweet Sorghum
Short rotation coppice Camelina sativa

103. Copyright 2008, Midwest Research Institute.

104. Aerial view of a pilot plant (Seambiotic Ltd.,
Tel Aviv) growing Nannochloropsis algae using
flue gas CO2 from a coal-fired Power Plant
near Ashkelon, Israel.
Photo: Professor Ami Ben-Amotz

105. Sustainable Energy
Down on the Farm
Farm
Energy Vehicles Buildings Equipment
Audit
Solar
Solar Wind Microhydro
Hot Water
Soil
Biogas/
Biofuels Biochar Carbon
Methane
Storage

106. Anaerobic digestion
Anaerobic digestion is a way of producing biogas from
biomass sources such as energy crops, farmyard residues
or food waste.
As well as biogas, the process leaves a solid residue, or
bio-fertiliser. It can also be used for combined heat and
power or fed into the natural gas grid as biomethane.

107. Biogas (methane)
Anaerobic digestion turns manure into fertilizer.
Biogas co-generation creates electricity and heat.

109. Biogas in India
25 kg dung = 3 hours gas

110. www.bcfarmbiogas.ca

111. www.ecodairy.ca

112. Anaerobic Digestion Funding
Enviro-loan - Farm Credit Canada
AAFC AgriFlexibility Fund
BC Environmental Farm Plan
Energy sales: SOP 9.5 - 10.4 cents kWh
Feed-In Tariff: 14 - 18 cents kWh??
FortisBC Biogas sales: $15/GJ
www. bcfarmbiogas.ca
www.fortisbc.com/Biogas

113. Manure
1 tonne of manure = 0.0055kW = 48 kWh year
200 cows manure + 25% dough, fats, oil and grease
1 tonne of high-energy feedstock = 0.055kW = 482kWh year
Heat: 1,149,570kWh x 1.4 = 1,609,398kWh heat/year.
Total revenue
If electricity sold for $0.10/kWh, revenue from electricity will be:
1,495,170kWh x $0.10 = $149,517/year.
If electricity sold for $0.14/kWh, revenue from electricity will be:
1,495,170kWh x $0.14 = $209,324/year.

114. Biogas

116. What’s needed for biogas to work?
1. Manure
2. Top level political will
3. Technical support …
4. Net metering
5. Grid access
6. A long-term guaranteed price ? ?
7. Federal support (tax credits) …
8. Provincial support (eg 30% subsidy) …
9. BC Utilities Commission support …
10. BC Hydro support
11. Investors
12. Farmers working together …

117. www.biomasstrader.org/bc

118. Sustainable Energy
Down on the Farm
Farm
Energy Vehicles Buildings Equipment
Audit
Solar
Solar Wind Microhydro
Hot Water
Soil
Biogas/
Biofuels Biochar Carbon
Methane
Storage

120. Biochar is charcoal created by pyrolysis of biomass,
and differs from charcoal in that its primary use is not for
fuel, but for biosequestration
or atmospheric carbon capture and storage.
Charcoal is a stable solid rich in carbon content, and can be
used to lock carbon in the soil
for hundreds to thousands of years.

121. Making biochar at Shelburne Farms,
Lake Champlain, Vermont

122. www.biocharworks.com

123. Without biochar
With biochar
www.biochar.info Zero Carbon Project, Switzerland

127. Sustainable Energy
Down on the Farm
Farm
Energy Vehicles Buildings Equipment
Audit
Solar
Solar Wind Microhydro
Hot Water
Soil
Biogas/
Biofuels Biochar Carbon
Methane
Storage

128. Grassland Ranching
Large cause of soil carbon loss

129. Native grasslands store a huge amount of carbon

130. Predators protect the grasslands
… and their soil

131. Herd animals always cluster together,
for safety against predators

134. Throughout history, around the world, farmers have
rarely understood how the predators
protect the grasslands.

135. Without the wolves, the herds “scatter-graze”.
Gophers and rabbits take over,
and the grasslands are destroyed.

137. The Solution:
Rotational grazing
Mob-stocking
Management-
intensive grazing
Holistic management

138. “Our beeves are kept together and rotated often
to simulate the grazing patterns of ancient herds
maintaining natural balance in grasslands.”
- James Ranch, Colorado

139. Holistic management
Allan Savory

140. Cimarron Farm, Vermont
130 acres

141. Regular grazing Rotational grazing

142. Land in 1986

143. Same land in 1989
after being grazed by 600 cow-calf pairs
Western wheatgrass recovering

144. Twin Creek Ranch, Wyoming
under Holistic Management

145. 1 year grazed 3 years not grazed
30 feet apart
Don Schaules, Montana

146. Carbon Ranching

147. Regular grazing
Rotational grazing
Yields increase, erosion ceases,
and the land stores up to
five times more carbon.

148. In a Maryland test, soil carbon increased
from 4.1 - 8.3% over 5 years
storing an additional 1.8 tonnes hectare/year

149. If all the world’s grasslands ranchers
practiced carbon farming,
they could sequester 3.4 Gt of carbon a year
World total carbon emissions = 10 Gt a year

150. Methane Reduction in Grazing Animals
Cystein food supplement + nitrates 100%
Feed additive based on fumaric acid 70%
Methane
Garlic Garlic 50%
reduction in
Early season grazing 29–45%
grazing animals
Grinding/pelleting low quality forages 20–40%
4% canola oil mix 33%
Enzyme inhibitors 30%
Alfalfa grass, instead of grass only 25%
Rotational grazing, high quality forages 22%
Organic sugars and special bacteria 20%
Vaccination 20%
Legume lotus/tannins 16%

151. CaerFai Farm, Pembrokeshire, Wales
170 acres organic - dairy - beef - cereals - potatoes - cheese - pigs
camping - holiday cottages - farm shop

152. • Anaerobic digester
• Wind turbine
• Solar hot water
• Groundsource heat
• Electric irrigation instead
of tractor driven
• Slurry pumped from the
digester to nearby fields,
instead of tractor spread
• Saves £4,000 a year
electricity, + $4,500 diesel
BUT.. still only reduced use
of diesel by 25%

154. Farm gas from anaerobic digestion produces biogas
for the Aga cooker, and 50% energy for sterilizing the
milking machine. Cheese whey included.

156. 2O kW wind turbine.
Performing at 17.5 kW

157. Solar hot water for use in the dairy

161. Guy Dauncey
www.earthfuture.com