#17 - These are game changers of sustainable farming
Hello! Today: Agriculture is a major source of emissions, but innovation is sowing the seeds of a more sustainable future. Breakthroughs like vertical farming are challenging convention and reducing land and water use with layered, LED-powered plant beds. Plus: We explore how fossil-free ammonia can transform fertiliser production. And, as an extra treat, seaweed recipes for your next dinner party.
Next level harvesting / 5 min
How vertical farming is turning traditional agriculture on its head
What to know: Growing crops in stacked shelves under LED lights is reshaping traditional agriculture. Vertical farming enables precise control of growing conditions, significantly reduces land use, reduces water consumption and eliminates the need for pesticides. By integrating solar panels and wind power, the high energy demand is met with renewable sources, making it an even more sustainable solution.
Why it matters: With food security challenges on the rise and environmental pressures mounting, vertical farming offers a sustainable way to produce fresh food locally. By reducing reliance on imports, cutting emissions from transport, and ensuring consistent yields in harsh climates, it could play a crucial role in feeding the world while conserving resources.
Nurturing the future / 3 min
Fossil-free fertilisers: A key to cutting carbon emissions
Fertilisers help feed the world but at a heavy environmental cost, with food production responsible for around 12 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions. One of the biggest culprits is ammonia, a key ingredient in fertilisers, which when made from fossil gas releases two tonnes of CO₂ for every tonne produced. The solution? Pure water. With fossil-free electricity and hydrogen, “green ammonia” can be produced, eliminating emissions. Learn more
Agri-PV revolution / 3 min
Why pairing farming and solar energy production is a win-win solution
An agri-photovoltaic project in Tützpatz, Germany, is proving that farmland can produce both food and clean energy. As one of the largest Agri-PV projects in Europe to date, it integrates solar panels with agriculture, boosting renewable energy production while preserving farmland for crops and livestock. “This project represents true pioneering work,” says Claus Wattendrup, Head of Solar at Vattenfall.
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Charged momentum
Ten hours – that is how long the new generation of electric tractors can operate on small to mid-sized farms between charges. These electrified machines, equipped with advanced technologies, offer revolutionary benefits such as optimising resource use, increasing crop yields, and reducing waste. Electrifying 10 per cent of the global agricultural machinery fleet could reduce CO₂ emissions by 15–20 million tonnes annually.
From yucky to yummy / 2 min
Turning ocean harvests into tasty treats
At Kattegatcentret aquarium in Denmark, children are turning seaweed and mussels, like those grown in Vattenfall's offshore wind farm at Kriegers Flak, into tasty dishes. The initiative encourages young chefs to explore ocean ingredients, transforming them into new family favourites.
News flash
3 x quick updates from the energy world
The Green Apple
The Sendero Verde apartment complex in East Harlem not only helps with New York’s housing crisis, it also uses only half the energy of comparable non-passive houses in the city. (theguardian.com)
Fighting farts with seaweed
Farts and burps from cows account for five per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Tech company Volta Greentech is trying to reduce this by adding seaweed to animal feed. Investors are over the moooooo-n. (voltagreentech.com)
What’s the scenario?
Climate modelling rarely explains how climate change will actually affect us. However, new research from the EDHEC-Risk Climate Institute could change all that and provide actionable answers. (theconversation.com)
And finally...
Holy solar power
Pope Francis wants to play his part in the green transition, writes Euronews.com. In an apostolic letter issued 'motu proprio', on his own initiative, released earlier this summer, His Holiness revealed plans to install solar panels on a Vatican-owned property outside Rome. The system will combine renewable electricity production with the needs of the underlying agricultural land, and the power generated could supply all the area's energy needs.
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See you next month!
Senior Policy Analyst, Skills for the Green Economy at Scottish Funding Council
2moThis sounds like a summary of SRUC 's #GreenCowShed. Methane capture✔️ Anaerobic digestion✔️ Free fertiliser ✔️ Vertical farming✔️ Reduced carbon emissions✔️ Solar powered ✔️ Rain water harvested too for good measure✔️
Researcher at Independent
2moHumanity practiced sustainable farming for thousands of years. We still do. The name we give it today is subsistence farming. We give it a negative connotation but it is 100% sustainable. I do not know when people developed the mindset that manual labor is bad and must be avoided. The beauty of a man working the land with a buffalo is - he is intimately connected to the Nature that sustains him. Practiced for millennia it encapsulates the wisdom of thousands of years of human labor - in concert with Nature that sustains us. The industrialization of ag isolates humanity from the Nature that sustains us. The Holy Grail, The Promised Land is the synthesis of modern with the millennia of wisdom while retaining human intimacy - with Nature. We will go through the time of antiseptic concept of ag the industrialization of ag - and then in the ideal case - the pendulum will swing back - as humanity adjusts to consciously recognize the symbiotic relationship humanity has with nature. So that we do not end up with a Soylent Green eventuality for mankind.