Purchase low-carbon energy
System: Dairy Cattle
Applicability
Mainly applicable for: All types of farms
Description
Purchasing renewable or low-carbon electricity, fuel or gas, and using it for on-farm processes. Green electricity (from wind, solar or other renawables) can be purchased from electricity providers or directly from a nearby generator (Power Purchase Agreement). Fuel can be replaced by a biofuel, such as biodiesel (from vegetable oils or animal fats) or HVO (Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil). Natural gas can be replaced by biomethane, such as from anaerobic digestion. Nuclear power is an example of a low-carbon, but not-renewable, electricity source.
Mechanism of effect
Replacing fossil energy by energy from renewable sources, such as sun, wind and biomass, means carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel sourcing and combustion are avoided. In theory, 100% of the fossil electricity, fuel and/or gas can be replaced. Some CO₂ emissions are associated with renewable energy sources due to the manufacturing and transport of renewable energy equipment, but this is very small compared to CO₂ emissions from fossil energy sources.
The use of biofuels is controversial because it may be associated with food-feed competition and land use change (e.g., due to use of palm oil). Therefore, this measure is currently not included in this factsheet.
Effects on GHG emissions
Reference situation: For electricity: average European grid mix.
Effect on total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (kg CO2-eq)
| Mean effect and range in kg CO2-equivalents | per kg product | per farm (absolute) | Level of evidence | ||
| Mean | (min-max) | Mean | (min-max) | ||
| Purchase green electricity | ● | ●–● | ● | ●–● | High |
Legend
| ● – Small effect (<5%) | o – No effect | ? – Effect unknown |
| ●● – Medium effect (5-20%) | ● – Unfavourable effect | |
| ●●● – Large effect (>20%) | ● – ● – Variable effect (depending on farm characteristics or way/level of implementation) | |
Effect per emission source
| Mean effect on absolute emission from | Animal | Manure storage | Feed and forage production | Barn | |||
| CH4 | CH4 | N2O | CO2 | N2O | LUC | CO2 | |
| Purchase green electricity | ●●● | ||||||
*risk of an adverse effect (see ’cause of variable or unfavourable effect’)
Legend
| ● – Small effect (<5%) | o – No effect | ? – Effect unknown |
| ●● – Medium effect (5-20%) | ● – Unfavourable effect | |
| ●●● – Large effect (>20%) | ● – ● – Variable effect (depending on farm characteristics or way/level of implementation) | |
Explanation of variable effect
Purchase green electricity
The size of the effect depends on the amount and type of the purchased renewable electricity, and the carbon footprint of the purchased electricity in the reference situation, which depends on the national electricity grid mix.
Other Effects
Effects on yield and cost-effectiveness
| Yield | Labor | Costs and revenues | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Animals | Crops | Time | Capital investment | Operational Costs | Revenues | |
| Purchase green electricity | o | o | o | o | ●-o | o |
Legend (thresholds differ per indictor and can be found in the tooltip)
| ● – Small favorable effect | o – No effect | ? – Effect unknown |
| ●● – Medium favorable effect | ● – Unfavourable effect | |
| ●●● – Large favorable effect | ● – ● -Variable effect (depending on farm characteristics or way/level of implementation) | |
Effects on other sustainability aspects
| Risks of trade-offs | Potential synergies | |
|---|---|---|
| Purchase green electricity | Land use or occupation | Biodiversity, Public health |
| Literature references | Purchase green electricity |
|---|---|
| Min EZK | CO2 emissiefactoren |