Farmers can embrace renewable technologies to offset increasing energy costs and decreasing incomes, according to a new report discussed at a roundtable event held in Washington D.C. this week.
The report, "Beyond Biofuels: Renewable Energy Opportunities for U.S. Farmers," served as the basis for a transatlantic discussion hosted by the Heinrich Böll Foundation-North America in cooperation with the 25x’25 Alliance.
The 25x’25 Alliance has long promoted the conviction that untapped
business opportunities in renewable energy hold the promise of
addressing increasing energy costs and decreasing farm incomes, all
while offering a boost to the rural economy, enhanced national energy
security and a cleaner environment.
U.S. farmers have captured some of
the renewable energy opportunities available to them, notably those
associated with ethanol production. But there is vast potential in other
renewable technologies that have yet to be developed.
At the roundtable, the report’s authors explored the intersection of renewable energy and agriculture on both sides of the Atlantic, providing an overview of renewable energy on farms and the drivers for deployment in Germany and the United States. Presentations showed that the U.S. agriculture sector has traditionally lagged behind Germany in its ability to capitalize on the benefits of renewables.
For example, while U.S. farmers are earning revenue from wind and biomass systems, it’s at levels far less than German farmers (Germany has approximately 30 times more biogas digesters than the United States). While U.S. farms have invested heavily in ethanol for transportation, farm-based renewable electricity is much more commonplace in Germany than here. The contrasts highlight a significant gap between what is possible on U.S. farms and what’s been implemented thus far.
Among ways the authors say the U.S. agriculture industry could draw from experiences in Germany is to universally advocate for a national comprehensive climate and energy strategy. The development of a strong national renewable energy policy in Germany has been supported by a broad coalition that has included agriculture lobbies, rural communities and farming cooperatives.
German lobbies such as the Federation of German Farmers explicitly acknowledge, among other things, the economic dividends of renewable investments to justify aggressively incorporating renewable energy into the agriculture sector. The U.S. farm lobby, by contrast, has generally supported policies targeting biofuels derived from crops, but has been ambivalent when it comes to wider legislation that could optimize solutions from the land to address the nation’s energy and climate problems.
The report also calls on rural communities to develop strong stakeholder networks, noting that German farms have a network of actors, such as community members and cooperatives, that have helped make them successful “energy farmers.” The profit that flows to farmers from renewable energy activities also benefits local communities, which in turn garners local support for renewable energy projects. In Germany, rural communities have established their own renewable energy goals. In contrast, the report says, similar mobilization of rural communities in support of farm-based renewable energy has not been as widespread in the United States, but could be very effective.
The report also calls upon the diversification of U.S. feedstocks used for biofuels. In recent years, biofuel policy in Germany has been aimed mainly at biodiesel, while U.S. policy primarily targets ethanol. In order for the United States to have a more sustainable biofuels industry, the United States could draw on German and European experience, and continue to explore the development of a more diverse portfolio of renewable transportation fuels.
The American agricultural community is increasingly interested in the economic opportunity of renewable energy, as well as in the additional benefits to water and soil quality. The lessons from Germany could help U.S. farms and rural communities achieve a broad range of economic, environmental and energy security objectives. The 25x’25 Alliance calls on stakeholders to raise awareness among the farming and rural communities that, in turn, will encourage policy makers to narrow the gap between potential opportunities for farmers in renewables and their actual participation in the market.
The full report is available at the link below.
Source: The 25x’25 blog
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