Assessment of Productivity and Economic Viability of Combined Food and Energy (CFE) Production System in Denmark

Ying Xu,Silvestre García De Jalón,Lisa Mølgaard Lehmann,Bhim Bahadur Ghaley

doi:10.3390/en12010166

Ying Xu, Silvestre García De Jalón + Show 2 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/en12010166

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Abstract

Agro-ecosystems for integrated food, fodder, and biomass production can contribute to achieving European Union goals to increase renewable energy sources and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The study objective was to evaluate the productivity and economic returns from a combined food and energy (CFE) system compared to sole winter wheat and sole short rotation woody crop (SRWC) production. Two excel-based models viz. Yield-SAFE and Farm-SAFE, were used to simulate agronomic productivity and economic assessment respectively. Yield-SAFE was calibrated and validated with measured data from CFE from 1996–2016. When compared over temporal scale of 21 years, CFE systems with 150–200 m alley width had the highest net present value (NPV) followed by 100 m, 50 m, sole winter wheat and sole SRWC, indicating higher profitability of CFE systems. Sensitivity analysis of NPV with ±10% yield fluctuations, and with 0–10% discount rate, demonstrated that CFE systems was more profitable than sole crops, indicating higher resilience in CFE systems. LER in CFE ranged from 1.14–1.34 indicative of higher productivity of CFE systems compared to component monocultures. Hence, the study has demonstrated that the productivity and the economic viability of CFE systems, were higher than sole crops, for informed decision making by farm managers and policy makers to contribute to renewable energy biomass production and to mitigate the impending adverse climate change effects on agricultural production.

Highlights

With growing concerns on contribution of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to global warming from combustion of fossil fuels [1], the demand for renewable energy resources is increasing at a rapid rate
The study has demonstrated that the productivity and the economic viability of combined food and energy (CFE) systems, were higher than sole crops, for informed decision making by farm managers and policy makers to contribute to renewable energy biomass production and to mitigate the impending adverse climate change effects on agricultural production
The measured field data in energy sole winter wheat waswith taken from climatic an organic farm located to the combined food and (CFE)

Summary

Introduction

With growing concerns on contribution of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to global warming from combustion of fossil fuels [1], the demand for renewable energy resources is increasing at a rapid rate. The European Union (EU) target is to reduce GHG emissions by 20% in 2020 based on 1990 levels by increasing the share of renewable energy by 20% in gross final energy consumption [2]. Aligning with EU targets, Denmark has an ambitious national goal to reduce 20% GHG emissions by 2020 compared to 2005 level by increasing the share of renewable energy by 30% of total energy consumption [3,4]. To meet the growing demand for biomass, growing energy crops on farmland is a potential source of renewable energy [5]. The biomass from short rotation woody crops (SRWC) can fill in the gap between the high demand of renewable energy resources and the lack of supply [6]. SRWC are the dedicated woody perennial crops—like Populus, Salix, and Eucalyptus etc.—which can be grown for biomass production as a source of bioenergy and biofuel applications [7]

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