Agriculture

Lithuania’s agriculture is an excellent media for creating renewable energy sources. Therefore more attention and greater support are going to be given to it. Climate changes, requirements of the European Union and Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant, which is going to be decommissioned soon, make us look for cheaper energy in all walks of life – from everyday life in towns to huge farms in the country. However, it is on the farms, as places that have suffered least from the crisis, that new biogas boiler houses, projects of growing willows, straw as fuel, are to emerge.
The Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Lithuania, seeking to make clear the application of renewable energy sources in agriculture according to the measures of programme for 2007-2013, commissioned a scientific research. The research carried out by the Lithuanian Biomass Energy Association, specialists of the Company Eldra and scientists of higher education institutions showed that the use of production of Lithuanian renewable energy resources in Lithuania has a great potential. Something has already been done. Also, it was calculated how much the implementation of renewable energy sources would cost, what sources of the EU support had been were allocated to achieve that goal and how Lithuania’s farmers could make use of them.

Employment of residents would increase

Renewable energy sources in Lithuania’s agriculture have been widely discussed, however, thus far it is only production
of biofuel that has developed most successfully, whereas great possibilities to generate energy with the help of the wind remain unused. Individual enthusiasts mention that the greatest hindrance to that is excessive bureaucracy and unwillingness of large energy suppliers to connect wind farms to their networks. Specialists maintain that wind farms could be an excellent source of income to rural and urban communities. The development of renewable energy does not only enable import of energy raw materials and environmental pollution to be reduced but also increases the employment rate of the rural population.
At the present time renewable energy in Lithuania’s agriculture is made from wood and straw fuel, as well as small hydro energy. However, the potential of renewable energy (including energy plant biomass, bio fuels, solar collectors, wind-driven and photo-electric power plants) is much greater. Plants grown exclusively for energy needs constitute a large part of renewable energy carriers.
Good initiatives do already exist. For example, the first industrial plantation of energy plants is planned to be started in Kaunas region, in exploited peat-bog of Eþerëlis where 20-30 hectares of trees and shrubs are intended to be planted annually. The Lithuanian Institutes of Agriculture and the Lithuanian Institute of Agricultural Engineering carry out investigations into the possibilities of using hemp, sweet clover, Jerusalem artichokes, sunflowers, reeds and other plants to produce energy.
At the present time local and renewable energy resources in production of energy in Lithuania account for as little as 4.6 per cent, and in heat production this figure stands at 17 per cent. This is, first and foremost, electricity generated by Kaunas Hydro-electric Power Plant (100 MW), all other electric power stations taken together generate only as little as 17,5 MW. These are mainly small hydro-electric plants (61 hydro-electric plants whose general power totals as little as 15,7 MW). However, hydro-electric power plants do irreparable harm to the landscape, therefore their development as a substitute for ordinary energy sources is not the best way out. Alternatives to oil do exist, however, modern facilities require huge investments.
Meantime in Sweden bio-fuel, waste and other local and renewable energy sources in heat production account for 90 per cent.

Biogases made of waste

One of the renewable energy sources is biogas produced by processing plant and animal waste. Furthermore, this method of producing energy is environment-friendly. Plant waste is usually used for fodder. It is less harmful and does not cause environmental problems. Lithuanian scientists calculated that the annual energy potential of biomass of maize, perennial grass and feeding root-crops grown in areas covering 30 thousand hectares amounts to 500 GWh, and having processed one third of manure it is possible to produce about 300 GWh of energy.
However, as specialists note, their cost-effective processing to obtain biogases is possible only at large industrial objects. About 0,5 million hectares of farming land is not used for its proper purpose – energy crops could be grown in part of these areas. The use of their green mass for anaerobic processing would increase the energy potential of bioreactors installed in livestock farms during a summer period, biogas obtained could be used to dry hey and corn, and the processed biomass could be used to fertilize the fields.
Biogas power plants are built all over Europe, and especially rapidly they are built in Germany where 1900 biogas power plants operated in 2004.
The Deputy Director of the Infrastructure, Land Reclamation and Cooperation Department of the Ministry of Agriculture Juozas Þukas is convinced that Lithuania needs a lot of experimental and practical knowledge in applying renewable energy sources in agriculture. “We have only one operating biogas power plant in Ðakiai region, which uses animal and plant waste. Meantime the potential of biomass production in agriculture is simply enormous, we have well developed cattle breeding and plant growing in our country”.
“It is necessary to support construction of biogas power plants. Even public buildings could be heated with granules because they are much cheaper than ordinary gases or fuel oil”, is convinced Vidmantas Lapë, Director of the Company Eldra, which prepared the recommendations.
According to the calculations made by scientists, Lithuanian pig breeding and poultry raising enterprises should need about 20 MW capacity biogas power plants. Such gas power plants would require LTL 207 million investments.

Willows are cheap fuel

Farmers of Sweden proved that it was possible to increase wood fuel resources quickly and rather cheaply. Willows intended especially for the energy sector, the plantations of which cover areas of 16,5 hectares, were started to be grown there as far back as 15 years ago. Special species of willows grow approximately eight times faster than do ordinary trees. 1200 growers derive income from this business. Rapidly growing willows are used for energy in the United Kingdom, Poland and other countries. Experience of Sweden and Poland could be applied in Lithuania because similar climatic conditions prevail here. Therefore thousands of hectares of cultivated land could also be used in Lithuania to increase energy resources.
A farmer, who grows willows, reaps harvest within three-four years – about 80 tons of wood from each hectare. This wood is suitable to produce heat not only in regional boiler houses but also in greenhouses and on mushroom-growing farms. From the point of view of calorific value, 20 tons of willow chips equal 5 tons of coal. This quantity of bio-fuel would bring in approximately LTL 1250 annual income from each hectare to a willow grower. Scientists calculated that the in-vestment needed to plant an area covering 11500 hectares totals LTL 115 million.

Double use of straw

Burning straw in the fields does harm to the environment, destroys the kingdom of small animals and can cause fires; therefore this is prohibited by laws. Straw that has not been used for agricultural purposes can supplement the resources of local fuel. Ðiauliai, Panevëþys, Marijampolë and Kaunas districts where corn is grown have the largest reserves of this fuel in Lithuania. Every year about 4 million tons of straw is made in Lithuania from 0,5 to 1,5 million tons of which remain unused. Having used it for fuel it would be possible to receive from 300 to 900 MW thermal power. At the present time as little as 1.5-2 per cent of possible resources of this cheapest fuel is used for energy purposes.
At the present time only several straw-run boiler houses and some enterprises manufacturing boilers exclusively for burning straw operate in Lithuania. The cost of straw is usually much lower than that of ordinary kinds of fuel, however, technologies adapted to burning straw are more expensive, which determines the cause of this fuel being unpopular.
Straw ashes contain potassium, magnesium, phosphate, calcium and other elements, which can be used as fertilizers in agriculture. Tests carried out to determine the quality of these fertilizers showed that the quantity of poisonous substances produced when burning straw is smaller than the quantity produced when burning boiler oil or coal.
Scientists calculated that if the cost of a single boiler house totalled LTL 200 thousand, the need for investments to modernize 260 boiler houses would amount to LTL 52 million. However, this would pay back. If we compare straw fuel with boiler oil we see that straw fuel is as much as 2-3 times cheaper than the latter. According to the calorific value, one ton of straw can replace 0,34 tons of boiler oil. Having used up all 500 thousand tons of straw possible to be used for fuel, every year the country would save 170 thousand tons of imported fuel.

Wind energy: LTL 90 million would be needed

It is believed that about 100 wind farms will be built in Lithuania during the period between 2007 and 2013. That would require as much as LTL 90 million investments.
Smalininkai (Jurbarkas region) community was the first in the country to decide to earn from wind energy. A 250 kW wind-driven power plant is being completed to be built there. “This process lasted as long as three and a half years”, said the Chairwoman of Smalininkai community Vanda Stonienë. “We had to prepare lots of documents. I think that this was the main obstacle that seriously impeded progress of such projects”.
To equip such a power plant it was necessary to change the purpose of land from agricultural to infrastructural one. This process usually takes several months. Also, there are many bureaucratic obstacles to overcome in obtaining other permits, technical specifications from the suppliers of electric networks when handling support documentation.
Construction of the wind farm cost as much as LTL 1,4 million to the community. The Small Grants Programme of the World Environment Fund allocated LTL 200 thousand, the Lithuanian Environmental Investment Fund allocated LTL 6000 thousand and the Municipality and other organizations also contributed to covering the loan received from the bank. “We shall sell all energy produced and shall use the funds received to manage infrastructure of the town, to improve the surroundings of the community”.

Scientists are interested in solar energy

Roofs of the houses, which can be used to install solar power plants without doing any harm to the environment, total about 150 km2 (0.3 per cent of the total area) in Lithuania. When carrying out the scientific programme “Solar and Other Renewable Energy Sources for Agriculture”, six centers for registering the duration of solar irradiance have been additionally installed, and at the present time their number totals 15. However, thus far this branch of energy has aroused interest as an object of scientific experiments only.
Solar energy can be used for thermal purposes installing solar collector to heat water, dry agricultural production, as well as installing additional heating systems.