Teagasc ran a half day workshop on Wednesday, 23rd March in Teagasc Ashtown on energy efficient technologies and solar PV options relevant to the agricultural sector.

At a national level we need to improve our energy security by reducing our dependence on imported fossil fuels. At an independent farm level, an investment in energy efficiency and renewable energy can both reduce the high cost of energy inputs and provide an additional source of income for the business. It will improve the green credentials of our production which is of increasing importance in the market place.

In farming, energy costs may only represent a small percentage of turnover, but reducing them can directly increase profits and competitiveness. There are opportunities for increased efficiencies in the pig, poultry, dairy and horticultural sectors together with options for the deployment of solar PV.

The workshop addressed the following areas:

• Energy efficient and renewable technologies in decarbonising pig & poultry farming (PDF)
  Barry Caslin – Teagasc
• BiOrbic Farm Zero Project (PDF)
  Gavin Hunt – Farm Zero C Project Manager, BiOrbic
• Energy efficient options in Agriculture (PDF)
  David Mulhall – Irish Dairy Services, Technical Advisor Skov
• Monitoring On-Farm Energy and Sub metering (PDF)
  Paul Mahon – Watt Footprint
• Digital Innovation for Dairy Industry (PDF)
  Dr James McGreer, School of Computing, Engineering and Intelligent Systems, Ulster University, Co. Derry
• The role of Solar PV in Irish Agriculture (PDF)
  Pat Smith – Local Power