FARMERS- Farm and Rural Energy from Renewable Sources

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EPSRC
EPSRC
EPSRC
EPSRC
EPSRC

£449,440

Aug. 31, 2015

Nov. 30, 2016

The Farming and Rural Mixed Energy from Renewable Sources project (FARMERS) explores the feasibility of using
integrated energy systems to lessen energy costs of rural communities (relative to urban ones). It will research adaptation
of methods to optimise the use of energy in farms and rural communities, reduce CO2 emissions by using renewables and
biomass CHP instead of fossil fuels, with energy storage to control and balance loads on rural distribution networks, saving
costly reinforcement for high loads from farm processes, electric vehicles or large intermittent renewable feeds and enable
greater use of renewable generation around rural communities. FARMERS will use renewable generation at Harper Adams
University and in local properties to test, adapt and demonstrate optimisation software models, hardware implementation,
to identify solutions for farmers and rural communities to install and integrate renewables while using local energy storage
to balance energy use and optimise the value of energy to rural communities. FARMERS will deliver optimisation models,
systems guidelines for rural energy networks and establish business cases, consultancy and models for widespread
replication.

Potential Impact:
The market for energy in the UK in 2012-13 was £187,005 Million (see Digest of UK Energy Statistics 2013), the domestic
market was £33,485 Million (Electricity £15,570 Million) and Agriculture £690 Million. 6 Energy Supply Companies (ESCOs)
dominate the market, limited generation capacity drives highly variable wholesale energy prices but energy is an inflexibly priced commodity to consumers. Energy used by agriculture and rural communities is around 2.5% of the total market, but
with higher use of oil based energy, the % CO2 emission is higher than national average. Much UK renewable generation
could be in rural areas (UK 2020 target approx 50-70 TWhs - possibly more than consumption) but local resistance to large
scale rural renewables drives offshore generation. Onshore is more cost effective and with local benefits may overcome
local resistance. If the hypothesis of the FARMERS project is feasible, it could become a valuable benefit sought by
communities.
The partners expect rural integrated energy systems to save 5% (see Benefits) of the cost of this energy (£32M for farming
alone) and deliver up to 10% of rural installations by 2020; since by characterising systems and infrastructure at farm and
rural energy system level, it will show how to: utilise, manage and balance all the potential energy sources, stores and
loads for communities; help balance distribution grids; direct local renewable energy to rural communities; and provide
marketable benefits to rural consumers and farmers.
If the project outcomes show feasibility, the potential ROI is many times project cost (See Appendix A). Partner Sharenergy
Co-op, a NfP facilitator of renewable energy co-operatives, provides a route to market which could include service support
for optimising software and marketing, implementation and management of integrated rural energy systems. By validating
an integrated service solution through renewable generation installation, storage, charging points and load control for
participating communities, the partners anticipate a potential 10% market share of installations in each of many 100s of
buildings/businesses/farms/homes in any rural integrated energy system, the potential value becomes many 10s of £ks per
implementation. The study will estimate the aggregated value of multiple rural systems leading to combined loads at large
energy user levels, tradable on wholesale energy markets (i.e. managing energy costs, hedging future supplies, minimising
consumption during triads) lessening costs to rural users. Because of its size and its ability to generate its own energy and
reduce load during triad periods, HAU, as host to the project, will be able to demonstrate an integrated rural energy network
and show the benefits of a large rural energy user. (sources, DECC, Ofgem, EDF Energy, Flexitricity).