Browsing by Subject "Energy security"

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Energy security through decentralized energy system: Electricity self-sufficient village using agrivoltaics?
(2025) Bauknecht, Martin
With the Green Deal, the energy transition in the EU has gained momentum. Almost half of electricity consumption is now covered by renewable energies, with solar technology accounting for a significant share. However, the massive expansion of photovoltaics is increasingly being felt by every individual locally. The electrical grids are reaching their capacity limits. The number of redispatch measures is rising exponentially to keep the system running smoothly. This, in turn, is reflected on the electricity exchange in exorbitantly low exchange prices and, during windy and sunny hours, even in negative exchange prices. These trends raise the question of how energy security can be maintained and achieved in the future. In this context, a decentralized energy system is being modeled to create an electricity self-sufficient village using agrivoltaics. This has the advantage that the land can be used for dual purposes. The shared use of energy between citizens, commercials, municipalities and farmers creates a self-managed energy community. Farmers play a key role in this dual land use. This paper examines the central research question of what contribution an electricity self-sufficient village using agrivoltaics can make to energy security. This paper is based on a survey of 215 German farmers. The survey results show a trend that energy security can be increased through this modelled decentralized energy system. Various policy implications can be formulated for the realization of an electricity self-sufficient village using agrivoltaics. The first step is to achieve electricity self-sufficiency during the sunny months from March to October, until cross-seasonal storage media are available and ready for series production.
Perennial biomass cropping and use: Shaping the policy ecosystem in European countries
(2023) Clifton‐Brown, John; Hastings, Astley; von Cossel, Moritz; Murphy‐Bokern, Donal; McCalmont, Jon; Whitaker, Jeanette; Alexopoulou, Efi; Amaducci, Stefano; Andronic, Larisa; Ashman, Christopher; Awty‐Carroll, Danny; Bhatia, Rakesh; Breuer, Lutz; Cosentino, Salvatore; Cracroft‐Eley, William; Donnison, Iain; Elbersen, Berien; Ferrarini, Andrea; Ford, Judith; Greef, Jörg; Ingram, Julie; Lewandowski, Iris; Magenau, Elena; Mos, Michal; Petrick, Martin; Pogrzeba, Marta; Robson, Paul; Rowe, Rebecca L.; Sandu, Anatolii; Schwarz, Kai‐Uwe; Scordia, Danilo; Scurlock, Jonathan; Shepherd, Anita; Thornton, Judith; Trindade, Luisa M.; Vetter, Sylvia; Wagner, Moritz; Wu, Pei‐Chen; Yamada, Toshihiko; Kiesel, Andreas
Demand for sustainably produced biomass is expected to increase with the need to provide renewable commodities, improve resource security and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in line with COP26 commitments. Studies have demonstrated additional environmental benefits of using perennial biomass crops (PBCs), when produced appropriately, as a feedstock for the growing bioeconomy, including utilisation for bioenergy (with or without carbon capture and storage). PBCs can potentially contribute to Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) (2023–27) objectives provided they are carefully integrated into farming systems and landscapes. Despite significant research and development (R&D) investment over decades in herbaceous and coppiced woody PBCs, deployment has largely stagnated due to social, economic and policy uncertainties. This paper identifies the challenges in creating policies that are acceptable to all actors. Development will need to be informed by measurement, reporting and verification (MRV) of greenhouse gas emissions reductions and other environmental, economic and social metrics. It discusses interlinked issues that must be considered in the expansion of PBC production: (i) available land; (ii) yield potential; (iii) integration into farming systems; (iv) R&D requirements; (v) utilisation options; and (vi) market systems and the socio‐economic environment. It makes policy recommendations that would enable greater PBC deployment: (1) incentivise farmers and land managers through specific policy measures, including carbon pricing, to allocate their less productive and less profitable land for uses which deliver demonstrable greenhouse gas reductions; (2) enable greenhouse gas mitigation markets to develop and offer secure contracts for commercial developers of verifiable low‐carbon bioenergy and bioproducts; (3) support innovation in biomass utilisation value chains; and (4) continue long‐term, strategic R&D and education for positive environmental, economic and social sustainability impacts.