A case for supporting distributed wind energy deployment in commercial-scale potato production based on field measurements in Ireland

Abstract

Potato production is seasonal in nature, resulting in the requirement for product storage in order to meet ongoing demands of consumer markets. Maintaining potato quality in medium- to long-term storage is temperature dependent and typically requires refrigeration to maintain a stable storage environment. This represents an energy demand that adds to production costs and greenhouse gas emissions using conventional fossil-based energy supplies. On-site renewable technology deployment presents opportunities to mitigate against these, however, the appropriate deployment of such technologies requires a site-specific understanding of energy demand and available renewable energy resources to best match the energy resources to demand. This research case study makes the case for on-site distributed wind electricity generation compared with solar PV in commercial-scale potato production in Ireland. It is based on high-resolution multi-annual measurements of electricity demand along with measurements and modelling of available on-site wind and solar resources at a commercial-scale producer's site. The results show that despite higher capital costs at present, distributed wind energy can be more appropriate for the given energy demand and resource profiles. A critical need to embed energy demand and resource matching criteria in government supports for on-site renewable energy deployment is highlighted. The learnings from this case study may be of benefit to numerous prospective stakeholders such as end-users, agricultural bodies and government agencies engaged with energy and carbon reduction in agriculture.