Agriculture as Energy Prosumer: Review of Problems, Challenges, and Opportunities

The issue of energy in agriculture is complex and multifaceted. Historically, agriculture was the first producer of energy through the conversion of solar energy into biomass. However, industrial development has made agriculture an important consumer of fossil energy. Although the share of agriculture in the consumption of direct energy carriers is relatively small, today’s agricultural producers use many inputs, the production of which also consumes much energy, mainly from fossil fuels (e.g., synthetic fertilizers).The food security of the world’s growing population does not allow for a radical reduction in direct and indirect energy inputs in agriculturer. Undoubtedly, some opportunities lie in improving energy efficiency in agricultural production, as any waste of inputs is also a waste of energy. In addition to improving efficiency, the agricultural sector has significant opportunities to consume energy for its own use and for other sectors of the economy. Biomass has a wide range of applications and plays a special role here. Other forms of renewable energy, such as increasingly popular agrovoltaics, are also important options. When analyzing the place of agriculture in the energy system, it is therefore worth seeing this sector as a specific energy prosumer, which is essential in the energy transition process. Such a point of view is adopted in this study, which attempts to identify the determinants of agriculture as a consumer and producer of renewable energy.