Because the strain on the agricultural sector continues, sensible useful resource administration and looking for sustainable power options may help farmers meet world meals calls for
Agriculture has at all times been the spine of civilisation, however now, as with most different sectors, it faces unprecedented challenges. From feeding a rising world inhabitants in quickly altering climate situations, to jostling for most suitable option of land use, the sector is more and more underneath strain to turn out to be not simply meals producers, however power suppliers as effectively. This problem should push us to rethink how we work together with the environment and use house and expertise in new and progressive methods.
The important thing to overcoming these challenges is cleverly utilizing every part round us, with out sacrificing meals for gas. Collectively, we have to consider all types of latest methods to seize all of the ‘free’ power we will. Can we use cellular photo voltaic panels, simply after we want them? Can we flip a parked-up machine right into a cellular wind turbine? Can we retailer the rainwater excessive up and run it via a turbine after we want the electrical energy?
“The important thing to overcoming these challenges is cleverly utilizing every part round us, with out sacrificing meals for gas”
Renewable power
It’s fairly profound, however the largest ‘battery’ within the UK is water, pumped up mountains into massive reservoirs utilizing extra electrical energy. When there’s a spike in demand, the water is launched via generators, and shortly generates gigawatts of electrical energy. One factor we’re blessed (and cursed) with within the UK is rain; think about if we might handle rainwater on farms to each generate electrical energy and irrigate crops.
Equally within the UK one factor they don’t seem to be making extra of is land, which is why it’s essential that we use it in essentially the most wise method. On-shore wind supplies the chance to co-locate power manufacturing with meals manufacturing – utilizing minimal land to create most output, whereas retaining the agricultural footprint for crops.
In fact, to the entrepreneurial farmer, none of that is new – the ida of maximising the output of the assets supplied is a each day incidence. Whether or not that’s via elevated crop yields or by utilizing equipment within the optimum method to scale back gas consumed. In truth, many farmers as we speak will not be solely meals producers however power producers too, profiting from wind generators and photo voltaic panels.
The challenges and potential of hydrogen
It’s this similar spirit that we attempt to embody at JCB – to make use of what we’ve got round us in essentially the most wise method, to create actual change sooner or later. Take the JCB hydrogen engine – it’s utilising recognized elements, current manufacturing and engineering know-how and turning it on its head to create one thing brand-new, with actually world- altering potential. What we’d like now could be for a similar spirit to be turned to hydrogen manufacturing and storage – figuring out new and inventive methods of manufacturing hydrogen domestically, at low price, and utilizing what we have already got round us.
We should not underestimate the challenges we now face with a rising inhabitants. Eight billion individuals on the planet means extra mouths to feed and extra power demanded. However eight billion individuals on the planet additionally means eight billion brains to give you progressive and inventive options – our world capability for altering the world round us is immense.
Agriculture has harnessed water, wind and solar to feed the world, now let’s assist farmers use water, wind and solar to energy the world as effectively.
This text first appeared within the October situation of iVT.
