Biogas energy crops

Can biogas energy crops be produced without negative impact on food production? - A case study on farm level

Use of arable land for energy crop production is already a reality in some countries. To meet future sustainability criteria for biofuel systems, it will be crucial to demonstrate systems which do not negatively affect current food production. This is of special relevance regarding future biofuels from energy crops cultivated on arable land and a potential implementation of so called iLUC – indirect land use change – factors.

One promising strategy is to improve the soil productivity, and thereby food crop yields, through dedicated and integrated food and energy crop rotations. The purpose of this study is to evaluate a scenario where a biogas plant is providing the organic fertilizer needed for soil productivity improvement. In addition, crops have been integrated in the food crop rotation to improve soil fertility – crops which at the same time can act as biogas feedstock. The evaluation is performed as a case study on farm level, where the total output of food/feed products from the farm potentially could be maintained in addition to production of biogas feedstock.

If it can be shown that biogas energy crop production is possible in parallel with a maintained food crop yield, this will be important knowledge in fulfilling the future criteria in sustainability certification systems. If this is not the case, this study will clarify which features of the investigated scenario that are most important for improvement of environmental performance and minimization of land take.

Photo (C) Jeff Golenski