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Title: Agricultural demand response for decarbonizing the electricity grid

Abstract

Historically, the focus of the agricultural industry has been increasing profit through maximizing crop yield. Costs for energy and water are small compared to equipment and personnel, and are thus often overlooked. However, energy costs for irrigation are increasing and could be exacerbated with declining water levels in many Western states. This trend has motivated many farmers to explore sustainable irrigation water and energy management practices. Additionally, much of this new focus has been directed towards the adoption of new agricultural technologies with a misplaced assumption that technology alone will inherently bring all the benefits. On one hand, farms are going through a paradigm shift, and are turning into net electricity generators, and on the other, higher penetration of intermittent renewable sources into the electricity grid, require dynamic loads to help the grid balance its intra-hour variability and short duration ramps. The agricultural industry could be restructured to utilize larger amounts of renewable energy such as wind and solar and provide a great deal of flexibility to the grid. As emerging producers of clean energy, farmers are required to learn and speak the complex language of the electricity grid in order to monetize their energy generation while making the renewablemore » electricity grid more resilient and reliable. In this paper, we develop a foundational approach for understanding and connecting three important concepts that can help the agricultural industry during this critical transition period. Those three concepts are: (a) current and future needs of the electricity grid, (b) available electricity market mechanisms through which farms can provide services to the grid, and (c) understanding electricity consuming/generating equipment on farms. Finally, defining these concepts and condensing them into a standardized framework, can remove a significant barrier for enabling farms to provide services to the electricity grid while improving their bottom line.« less

Authors:
 [1];  [1]
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  1. Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE)
OSTI Identifier:
1508068
Grant/Contract Number:  
AC02-05CH11231
Resource Type:
Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Journal of Cleaner Production
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 220; Journal Issue: C; Journal ID: ISSN 0959-6526
Publisher:
Elsevier
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY; 32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION; Agriculture; Irrigation; Demand response; Ancillary services; Electricity; Water

Citation Formats

Aghajanzadeh, Arian, and Therkelsen, Peter. Agricultural demand response for decarbonizing the electricity grid. United States: N. p., 2019. Web. doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.02.207.
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Aghajanzadeh, Arian, & Therkelsen, Peter. Agricultural demand response for decarbonizing the electricity grid. United States. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.02.207
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Aghajanzadeh, Arian, and Therkelsen, Peter. Thu . "Agricultural demand response for decarbonizing the electricity grid". United States. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.02.207. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1508068.
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@article{osti_1508068,
title = {Agricultural demand response for decarbonizing the electricity grid},
author = {Aghajanzadeh, Arian and Therkelsen, Peter},
abstractNote = {Historically, the focus of the agricultural industry has been increasing profit through maximizing crop yield. Costs for energy and water are small compared to equipment and personnel, and are thus often overlooked. However, energy costs for irrigation are increasing and could be exacerbated with declining water levels in many Western states. This trend has motivated many farmers to explore sustainable irrigation water and energy management practices. Additionally, much of this new focus has been directed towards the adoption of new agricultural technologies with a misplaced assumption that technology alone will inherently bring all the benefits. On one hand, farms are going through a paradigm shift, and are turning into net electricity generators, and on the other, higher penetration of intermittent renewable sources into the electricity grid, require dynamic loads to help the grid balance its intra-hour variability and short duration ramps. The agricultural industry could be restructured to utilize larger amounts of renewable energy such as wind and solar and provide a great deal of flexibility to the grid. As emerging producers of clean energy, farmers are required to learn and speak the complex language of the electricity grid in order to monetize their energy generation while making the renewable electricity grid more resilient and reliable. In this paper, we develop a foundational approach for understanding and connecting three important concepts that can help the agricultural industry during this critical transition period. Those three concepts are: (a) current and future needs of the electricity grid, (b) available electricity market mechanisms through which farms can provide services to the grid, and (c) understanding electricity consuming/generating equipment on farms. Finally, defining these concepts and condensing them into a standardized framework, can remove a significant barrier for enabling farms to provide services to the electricity grid while improving their bottom line.},
doi = {10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.02.207},
journal = {Journal of Cleaner Production},
number = C,
volume = 220,
place = {United States},
year = {Thu Feb 21 00:00:00 EST 2019},
month = {Thu Feb 21 00:00:00 EST 2019}
}
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Publisher's Version of Record
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.02.207
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Works referenced in this record:

Demand response in smart electricity grids equipped with renewable energy sources: A review
journal, February 2013

Regulation as an enabler of demand response in electricity markets and power systems
journal, September 2018

Turning electricity into food: the role of renewable energy in the future of agriculture
journal, August 2013

A Paradigm Shift in Irrigation Management
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The global groundwater crisis
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Demand responses of Korean commercial and industrial businesses to critical peak pricing of electricity
journal, March 2015

The nexus across water, energy, land and food (WELF): potential for improved resource use efficiency?
journal, December 2013

  • Ringler, Claudia; Bhaduri, Anik; Lawford, Richard
  • Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, Vol. 5, Issue 6
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.cosust.2013.11.002

Groundwater use for irrigation – a global inventory
journal, January 2010

  • Siebert, S.; Burke, J.; Faures, J. M.
  • Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, Vol. 14, Issue 10
  • DOI: 10.5194/hess-14-1863-2010
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