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U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Energy integrated farm system technical summary report

Technical Report ·
OSTI ID:6515636
The Energy Integrated Farm System program was established by the Department of Energy in 1980 in response to the hardship imposed on US farmers by high fuel costs and unreliable fuel supplies. The program investigated the feasibility of integrating energy conservation practices with on-farm energy production to reduce farm energy consumption and make farms more energy self-sufficient. Seven farms located in various geographical regions in the US and Puerto Rico participated in the program. Each of these farms developed an energy integrated farm system project that used a unique combination of energy production and energy conservation methods to supply energy to the farm and reduce the farm's dependence on energy produced from nonrenewable sources such as coal and oil. Methods used at these projects included conservation tillage, solar heating, waste heat recovery, methane digestion, electricity production from biogas, alcohol fuel production, fluidized-bed combustion of crop wastes, and computer-aided conservation irrigation. This report is a summary of the seven technical manuals prepared at the conclusion of the projects. It presents highlights and results, provides an overview of successes and problems, and lists recommendations.
Research Organization:
USDOE Idaho Operations Office, Idaho Falls
DOE Contract Number:
AC07-76ID01570
OSTI ID:
6515636
Report Number(s):
DOE/ID-10167; ON: DE87010742
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English