Because the strain on the agricultural sector continues, sensible useful resource administration and looking for sustainable power options may help farmers meet international meals calls for
Agriculture has all the time been the spine of civilisation, however now, as with most different sectors, it faces unprecedented challenges. From feeding a rising international inhabitants in quickly altering climate circumstances, to jostling for most suitable option of land use, the sector is more and more beneath strain to change into not simply meals producers, however power suppliers as effectively. This problem should push us to rethink how we work together with our surroundings and use house and know-how in new and revolutionary methods.
The important thing to overcoming these challenges is cleverly utilizing the whole lot 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 are able to. Can we use cellular photo voltaic panels, simply once 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 by a turbine once we want the electrical energy?
“The important thing to overcoming these challenges is cleverly utilizing the whole lot 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 by generators, and rapidly generates gigawatts of electrical energy. One factor we’re blessed (and cursed) with within the UK is rain; think about if we may handle rainwater on farms to each generate electrical energy and irrigate crops.
Equally within the UK one factor they aren’t making extra of is land, which is why it’s essential that we use it in essentially the most wise method. On-shore wind gives the chance to co-locate power manufacturing with meals manufacturing – utilizing minimal land to create most output, whereas retaining the agricultural footprint for crops.
After all, to the entrepreneurial farmer, none of that is new – the ida of maximising the output of the sources offered is a every day incidence. Whether or not that’s by elevated crop yields or through the use of equipment within the optimum option to scale back gas consumed. In reality, many farmers in the present day usually are not solely meals producers however power producers too, benefiting from wind generators and photo voltaic panels.
The challenges and potential of hydrogen
It’s this identical spirit that we try to embody at JCB – to make use of what we now have round us in essentially the most wise method, to create actual change sooner or later. Take the JCB hydrogen engine – it’s utilising identified parts, 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 want now’s for a similar spirit to be turned to hydrogen manufacturing and storage – understanding new and artistic methods of manufacturing hydrogen regionally, 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 revolutionary and artistic options – our international 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.
