Green finance for sustainable farming in Europe

Project Information

SOLARFARM

Grant agreement ID: 817096

DOI

10.3030/817096

Project closed

EC signature date 11 June 2018

Start date 1 July 2018

End date 31 December 2018

Funded under

• INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Innovation In SMEs

Total cost

€ 71 429,00

EU contribution

€ 50 000,00

Coordinated by

ELA, INGENIERIA Y MEDIO AMBIENTE SL
Spain

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - SOLARFARM (Green finance for sustainable farming in Europe)

Reporting period: 2018-07-01 to 2018-12-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Photovoltaic irrigation (PVI) is a new technology that allows significant improvements in the economic and environmental sustainability of farming.By using PVI systems for pumping water, farmers can save up to 70% of the energy costs and reduce water consumption by up to 30%.Nevertheless, PVI requires high up-front costs and, unless tight quality controls are in place, the performance of the systems cannot be guaranteed. Thus,the introduction of PVIhas only reached a small fraction of a potential market of more than € 24 bn in Europe alone. SolarFarm has produced a technical and financial solution for PVI that allows farmers to overcome the aforementioned barriers. This solution is based on tested technical and contractual standards, capacity building and certification schemes for local PVI providers and a tailored financial instrument that allows access to low cost, long term finance.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

SolarFarm solution includes enhanced system monitoring, data analysis and reporting, especially in order to guarantee transparency over the performance of the assets for investors. The analysis indicated that blockchain could play a crucial role in reducing transaction costs between irrigators and investors. SolarFarm has conducted a feasibility study including a business plan in order to assess the commercial potential of the solution and the actions and resources needed to reach the market. A pilot smart contract power purchase agreement (PPA) has been produced and tested in order to assess advantages and/or inconveniences over traditional PPAs. Results indicate the potential of blockchain for improving distributed renewable energy management and financing. Nevertheless, it will be necessaryto carry out commercial scale operations using the technology as a backup andthe creation of extensive records withresultsbefore using blockchain as a substitution for established data validation and management methods. SolarFarm´s business plan has identified a significant potential for PVI-PPA and financial instruments based on such collateral. Consequently, the promoters of SolarFarm will continue to work on the project at the next stage of development.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

SolarFarm solution will allow for the production of suitable PVI pools to be jointly monitored, managed and used as high-quality collateral for financial instruments. As a result hundreds of local installers and thousands of farmers throughout Europe and beyond will be able to introduce PVI in much better conditions.

Sprinkler powered by a photovoltaic irrigation system in Alaejos, Spain, monitored by Solarfarm

Photovoltaic irrigation system in Alter do Chao, Portugal, monitored by Solarfarm