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Green Energy Opportunities - An Introductory Guide for Ontario's Farmers, Food Processors and Rural Communities

Author: OMAFRA Staff
Creation Date: 01 March 2007
Last Reviewed: 19 November 2009

Table of Contents

  2. Capturing Energy for Renewable Sources
  3. Energy from Biomass
  4. Producing Biofuels from Renewable Sources
  5. Take a Closer Look...

The Green Energy Future

Green Energy means producing renewable energy and fuels, and a lot more.
  • Saving energy through good decision-making.
  • Reducing waste by capturing energy value from by-products.
  • Generating valuable by-products.
  • Contributing to Ontario's energy supplies in an environmentally sustainable manner.
  • Creating rural economic development opportunities and partnerships.
  • Reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Energy efficiency is the green energy starting point. Farmers, food processors, businesses and residents can reduce energy use by upgrading lighting, motors, ventilation, heat recycling, appliances, equipment and insulation, and by adopting new energy conservation technologies as they become available.

Farm fields are natural energy collectors. Energy is captured from the soil, sun, wind and water:

  • Soil and sun combine to produce energy crops and biomass for fuel.
  • Sun and wind present energy opportunities to harvest power.
  • Water is also an energy resource in the form of untapped streams that flow through farms. Dams can be used to tap this resource.

Farms and food processors can be more than energy collectors; they can produce energy in marketable products such as switchgrass pellets, biodiesel, ethanol and electricity.

Green Energy Opportunities - Energy efficiency, producing renewable energy, production opportunities across the province, economic development opportunities, waste recycling, using renewable energy by-products.

Figure 1. Green Energy Opportunities - Energy efficiency, producing renewable energy, production opportunities across the province, economic development opportunities, waste recycling and using renewable energy by-products.

Rural Economic Development

Rural businesses, municipalities, community groups and private landowners are often involved in power generation projects. Projects involving local partnership and ownership opportunities can provide significant community and economic development benefits (e.g. job opportunities and stimulating local investment).

Farm, food and rural energy systems can result in:

  • Energy, in the form of electricity, fuel or heat, which can be used at the production site, by a neighbouring facility, or throughout the province.
  • Investment in the local community through the purchase of supplies from other farms and businesses, and using local services for the maintenance of energy systems.
  • Carbon-rich and nutrient-rich by-products that can be used on the farm to create sustainable environmental and energy cycles.

Capturing Energy from Renewable Sources

Energy is all around in natural systems, but to capture it requires being in the right spot and having the right tools. Renewable sources of energy include the following:

Wind Power: Wind that blows across rural Ontario can be captured by turbines which converts it into electrical power. Wind turbines and farming can co-exist. In many parts of Ontario there is enough wind to produce power in a cost-effective manner.

Solar Power: Crops already capture the sun's energy which can then be converted through processing to fuels and electricity. Solar panels (photovoltaic cells) and solar walls can be used to produce electricity or capture heat. New solar technology is becoming more efficient at capturing energy.

Water Power: Creek and stream are on-farm sources of water power. Some farms and rural properties may be in the right spot to capture energy with micro-hydro or "run-of-the-river" technologies. Dams can be used to tap this resource.

Geothermal Power: Using a heat pump system to take advantage of the differences between the soil temperature (i.e. 3 m down) and air temperature of buildings to heat (in winter) or cool (in summer).

Energy from Biomass

Farmers and food processors produce or manage large volumes of energy-rich organic materials, which can be further processed to obtain usable forms of energy. There are several ways farmers and other businesses can tap into the energy potential found in biomass.

Production of New Energy Crops

Ontario farmers can grow new energy crops such as switchgrass and specialized corn silage for anaerobic digesters, depending on the location and type of operation they have. These crops may fit into existing rotations and may be harvested by available equipment.

Local Value-added Opportunities

Energy crops or agriculture and food biomass can be processed locally before shipping. Local pelletizing of switchgrass or crop residues can produce a value-added product that can be easily transported for use in other markets.

On-site Production of Energy

Renewable energy systems can produce energy in the following ways:

  • Anaerobic Digesters produce biogas by using manure and other organic inputs (such as energy crops and food processing by-products). Biogas can be used as a replacement for natural gas to produce heat, electricity and/or transportation fuel.
  • Biomass Combustion Systems that burn energy crops, crop residues, wood and other cellulosic inputs produce heat, power or bio-oils with very low emissions. The heat can be sold locally to another business, farm or community.

Producing Biofuels from Renewable Sources

Like biomass energy systems, solid and liquid biofuels production from crops can reduce reliance on fossil fuels. Unlike fossil fuels, biofuels are considered "carbon neutral" because no net carbon is introduced into the atmosphere through their use (i.e. they capture the same amount of carbon dioxide in their growth as utilizing them creates). Local biofuels production could also increase rural economic development.

Fuel Types include:

  • Grain Ethanol: Ethanol for fuel is mostly created from fermented corn.
  • Cellulosic Ethanol: Cellulosic ethanol will be produced from high-volume specialized crops (e.g. switchgrass), crop residues and other forms of organic matter.
  • Biodiesel: Biodiesel can be created from a variety of agricultural materials, including canola and soybeans, and from food processing by-products.
  • Raw Biomass: Heat and electricity can be produced by burning grains, crop residues or dedicated energy crops in burners or boilers.
  • Pelletized Biomass: Switchgrass and other high-growth crops can be harvested and pelletized for ease of transportation, storage and use as a solid biofuel, primarily in heating systems.
  • Biogas: Refined biogas can directly replace natural gas.

Uses of Biofuels:

Heating: Solid biofuels provide a fairly direct energy conversion from sunlight to fuel source to energy for the consumer. Liquid biofuels can replace low-grade fossil fuels (e.g. heavy oils) typically used for heating.

Fueling Motors: Use of liquid biofuels reduces automotive emissions and greenhouse gases. The cars of the future may use biogas as transportation fuel.

Electricity: Biogas from anaerobic digesters fuel generators that produce electricity onto the electrical grid.

Ontario's Feed-in Tariff (FIT) Program offers standardized prices for electricity from renewable energy generation.

Take a Closer Look…

Energy Efficiency

Using less energy means reducing costs. It also means reducing energy requirements and changing the way energy is used.

Ways to save energy include:

  • Conducting an energy audit, which shows where energy use can be more efficient
  • Optimizing energy used by equipment and appliances, and finding opportunities to recover or share power or heat
  • Using Smart Meters to track periodic and peak power use and power generation

How to increase energy efficiency

  • Do an energy audit
  • Switch to energy-efficient lights and motors
  • Capture unused heat for other purposes (e.g. power production)
  • Properly calibrate all equipment
  • Modify or upgrade older, inefficient equipment (e.g. variable frequency pumps and cooling equipment)
  • Use energy efficient appliances
  • Maintain equipment in optimal condition
  • Match equipment size to need
  • Reduce water use

Green Energy: Contributing to a Sustainable Environment

Green energy systems contribute to a sustainable environment by capturing value and reducing risk:

Waste reduction:

  • Organic materials that were once considered to be a waste can be energy-rich feedstocks in green energy systems, reducing landfill use and reducing emissions from transporting materials.
  • Reduced waste and lower waste management handling costs reduce greenhouse gas and emissions and can significantly reduce food processors' costs of doing business.

Pathogen reduction:

  • Manure-based biogas systems produce energy while creating an enhanced manure product that can be applied as a soil amendment.

Odour reduction and greenhouse gas emissions reductions:

  • When by-products from farms and food processors are used in biomass or biogas systems, odour emissions compared to conventional management approaches are reduced.
  • The storage, management and land application of renewable energy products and by-products mean reduced greenhouse gas emissions and result in carbon-neutral energy generation.

The Green Energy Future is bright! Farmers, food processors and rural communities are well-positioned to reap the benefits and make a positive impact on our energy supply.

 

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