Citation:
Paul J. Burgess, Monica Rivas Casado, Jerry Gavu, Andrew Mead, Tim Cockerill, Richard Lord, Dan van der Horst, David C. Howard, A framework for reviewing the trade-offs between, renewable energy, food, feed
and wood production at a local level, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Volume 16, Issue 1, January 2012, Pages 129–142.
Abstract:
High fuel prices and concerns about energy security and anthropogenic climate
change are encouraging a transition towards a low carbon economy. Although
energy policy is typically set at a national level, tools are needed for people
to engage with energy policy at regional and local levels, and to guide
decisions regarding land use, distributed generation and energy supply and
demand. The aim of this paper is to develop a per-capita approach to renewable
energy demand and supply within a landscape and to illustrate the key trade-offs
between renewable energy, food, (animal) feed and wood production. The chosen
case study area (16,000 ha) of Marston Vale, England is anticipated to have a
population density midway between that for England and the UK. The daily per
capita demand for energy for heat (31 kWh), transport (34 kWh) and electricity
(15 kWh) when combined (80 kWh) was seven-fold higher than the combined demand
for food (2 kWh), animal feed (6 kWh), and wood (4 kWh). Using described
algorithms, the combined potential energy supply from domestic wind and
photovoltaic panels, solar heating, ground-source heat, and municipal waste was
limited (<10 kWh p−1d−1). Additional electricity could be generated from
landfill gas and commercial wind turbines, but these have temporal implications.
Using a geographical information system and the Yield-SAFE tree and crop yield
model, the capacity to supply bioethanol, biodiesel, and biomass, food, feed and
wood was calculated and illustrated for three land-use scenarios. These
scenarios highlight the limits on meeting energy demands for transport (33%) and
heat (53%), even if all of the arable and grassland area was planted to a high
yielding crop like wheat. The described framework therefore highlights the major
constraints faced in meeting current UK energy demands from land-based renewable
energy and the stark choices faced by decision mak