In this issue:
- Climate change, emissions and the food and fibre sector
- Case study: young US farmers priced out by solar farms
- Hydrogen technology developments
- We have been looking at...
Climate change, emissions and the Food and Fibre sector
A number of reports released in recent months reinvigorate the conversation around carbon emissions, their pricing, and the impact on the food and fibre sector.
Last month Treasury New Zealand released Ngā Kōrero Āhuarangi me te Ōhanga: Climate Economic and Fiscal Assessment (CEFA). This report identified that to meet Paris Agreement targets, the country must not exceed 571 million tonnes CO2 equivalent emissions between 2021 and 2030. New Zealand emitted almost one-sixth of that volume in the year to June 2021. Further reductions will be needed to avoid an estimated spend prior to 2030 somewhere between NZ$3-24 billion on carbon credits - a price dependent on global markets.
The Climate Change Commission has advised the government to set firm targets for 2024-28 that prioritise emissions reduction over forestry investment. The Commission recommends faster action on renewable energy, electric vehicle charging, and emissions efficiency in new buildings. The government has also announced changes to the Clean Car Discount scheme, which includes funding for low-emissions vehicles offset by higher fees for high-emissions vehicles.
Federated Farmers oppose the fee increase, while the Kiwis Backing Farmers campaign claims that the policies and proposals are threatening the future of sheep and beef farms and rural communities across New Zealand
Which will be more economically beneficial for New Zealand: buying credits or investing in tools/capabilities that help mitigate the issues? Te Puna Whaakaronui is currently developing a compendium of current and future technology capabilities that can support the food and fibre sector to identify tools for change – watch this space!
Case study: Young US farmers priced out by solar farms
Research from the National Young Farmer Coalition survey, 2022, shows land access is the greatest issue facing young farmers in the US - a problem likely to worsen as solar farming continues to push up land prices. However solar and agriculture operations can co-exist in a mutually beneficial operating model.
Modelling undertaken by the American Farmland Trust (AFT) in 2022 projected that 83% of new solar generation capacity built over forthcoming decades will be sited on agricultural acreage and could potentially cover 10 million acres.
Farmer retirement will see around 400 million acres change hands in the near future. For many ageing farmers, leasing the land for solar farming, gaining up to US$1200 per acre per year, compared to up to US$300 per acre per year from agriculture, is an attractive economic proposition. The Coalition is advocating for a US$2.5 billion investment over ten years in the 2023 Farm Bill to support young farmers secure one million acres of land for food production.
Solar farming and agriculture are not necessarily mutually exclusive. New research from Cornell University uses a physics-based tool to estimate the costs and benefits of co-locating solar panels with commercial agriculture, and shows that the two operations can co-exist with mutual benefits. The 80-megawatt Guzman Energy Garnet Mesa Solar Project is doing just that, by combining solar panels and sheep for even greater dividends.
Could co-locating solar on New Zealand's farms and orchards help safeguard the prosperity of the food and fibre sector?
Hydrogen technology developments
Can improvements to hydrogen generation, transport and storage make green hydrogen a more applicable renewable energy source? Some interesting technology advancements include:
- Solid hydrogen batteries could offer a solution to transport and safety concerns however they typically suffer from low efficiency due to the need for high temperatures (300C) to operate. Work by GKN, based in Italy, has produced solid-state hydrogen batteries that can operate at significantly lower temperatures (65C) and can store 50kW per 100kg, with a greater storage capacity than even Tesla's Model 3. GKN were able to create a system that maintained 90% of the energy used in an off-grid house in the Alps and have since received US$1.7M in funding from the US Department of Energy to investigate the possibility of integrating their technology with the ARIES megawatt-scale hydrogen capabilities for stationary power generation.
- Carbon 280 are in the process of commercialising their Hydrilite storage technology to offer a low cost and safer energy solution with the potential to reduce the capital cost of pressurised hydrogen storage by 90%.
- Heven Drones offer autonomous deliveries during emergency response powered by green hydrogen produced on-site using a solar powered electrolyser. Heven Drones’ technology is notable due to its direct applicability to pollination as well as pesticide application, reducing the labour inputs of these tasks. Heven Drones’ green hydrogen production technology could potentially be applied to other battery-powered machinery.
With the accelerating improvements to hydrogen generation, storage and applications, what other factors will determine its applicability as a renewable energy source for use in New Zealand?
We’d love to hear from you! Let us know what you think, email us at: tepunawhakaaronui@mpi.govt.nz
We have been looking at...
- Danone’s corporate venture arm, Danone Manifesto Ventures, has taken a minority stake in Imagindairy, an Israeli start-up making ‘animal-free’ dairy proteins via precision fermentation.
- Africa was the only global region to see agrifoodtech investment increase in 2022, according to AgFunder’s latest agrifoodtech investing report in collaboration with Temasek.
- Ukraine’s corn and wheat exports are set to plummet, CNBC breaks down what that could mean for the world’s food supply.
- The Economist has presented a different way to measure the climate impact of food, using a banana as the comparator.
- Experience-led growth: a new way to create value, according to McKinsey.
- Jennifer Doudna’s research group applies CRISPR to cow burps in a quest to solve climate change.
- Video: according to the world’s meteorological agencies, the 2023 El Niño is shaping up to become a potential record breaker – and not in a good way. So, what's happening and what can we expect?
- Uravu Labs, a deep-tech start-up, raises US$2.3 million in seed-funding to scale-up their operations as they move towards commercialisation.
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Published by Te Puna Whakaaronui. Not government policy.