Published on: Thursday, 20 December 2018

A consortium led by the MeSSO Research Group in CIT, consisting of Teagasc, Bord Bia, Met Éireann and the SEAI, have begun to develop the national agricultural energy optimisation platform (AEOP).

This project encourages future deployment of optimal renewable energy and energy efficient technologies throughout the Irish agri-sector via informed decision making.

This technical barrier will be removed through the deployment of AEOP, which will enable farmers to select the best energy solutions for their specific conditions.

AEOP will also give Irish policy makers access to up-to-date research outputs and next generation energy simulation and optimisation tools which will be used to provide direct guidance and support for policy makers in issues pertaining to the optimal utilisation of energy technologies in agriculture.

AEOP will enable farmers, industry professionals and policy makers to select the most beneficial energy technologies for specific agricultural applications. AEOP will combine new functionality for the beef and sheep farming sectors, which will be combined with an upgraded dairy energy model.

New optimisation algorithms and machine learning techniques will be applied to the platform which will solve complex scenarios to find the optimal energy technologies (such as solar thermal, photovoltaics, wind, energy storage, variable speed drives, heat recovery, demand side load management, electricity tariff selection) based on the user’s input criteria such as financial savings, minimum renewable energy percentage, tons of CO2 offset, energy savings, etc.

Government policy has put forward ambitious targets for the agri-food sector, aiming for very large increases in overall production and an 85% increase in exports by 2025.

As food production with corresponding energy consumption and GHG emissions rapidly increase, the selection and proliferation of optimal renewable energy and energy efficient technologies for the agri-food sector is essential for Ireland to meet its future energy and environmental obligations.

The project is supported by the SEAI RD&D fund. For further information please contact michaeld.murphy@cit.ie