The finding has come out of an exclusive survey – thought to be the most comprehensive of its kind in the UK – which involved gathering opinion on farm-based renewable energy from nearly 700 farmers across the country.
The Farm as Power Station research involving Nottingham Trent University, Forum for the Future and Farmers Weekly has shown a rapid increase in the number of farmers embracing energy production in the last three years. Almost 40% of those who responded to the survey are now using renewables, which is in stark contrast to the finding from a Defra survey in 2010, which revealed that just 5% of farmers were producing energy.
Of those who don’t currently generate renewable energy on their farms, almost two-thirds (61%) say they are likely to invest in energy generation in the next five years.
Yet, while the survey shows a shift towards farmers becoming energy producers as well as food producers, 76% still don’t believe the potential for renewable energy is being met.
The survey participants identified a number of hurdles towards fulfiling this potential: 84% saw high investment costs as the biggest problem and more than half found the ‘red tape’ (53%) and cumbersome and costly planning process (52%) to be barriers. Some 45% found opposition from family or community to be a problem.
More than three quarters (80%) of farmers said that a consistent government policy was important in adopting renewable energy practices.
The survey for the project involved gathering responses from farmers across the country. It showed that the most popular technology currently being used by farmers were solar (66%), wind (30%) and biomass for heat (21%). More than a quarter (27%) would consider leasing their land to energy companies for renewable energy installations, the study showed.
More than half of farmers (53%) had invested in renewable energy for both household and on-farm use and to sell the energy to the open market. For 36% of generators, the energy was for use solely on-farm, while 10% generated energy solely to sell on the open market.
Some 76% of farmers felt the main benefit of on-farm renewable energy generation was that it reduced energy costs in the business. This was closely followed by a feeling that it provided a safe means of non-fossil fuel energy (73%) and that it contributed to national energy security (72%). Almost three quarters (71%) felt it provided a good return on investment compared with traditional farming enterprises.
It is hoped that the findings will stimulate discussions and debates and help identify ways to remove the barriers to the uptake of sustainable farm-based energy generation practices across the UK.
Findings are due to be presented to government and key stakeholders in the energy industry over the coming weeks.
Researchers say that, given declining farm incomes, rising energy costs, uncertainty in global energy supply and increasing threats from climate change, on-farm energy generation seems vital for the UK.
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