Eco-sustainable energy consumption and production in animal farming

Intensive animal farming is highly energy demanding and often associated with concerns for food quality and for the environment. Pursuing the general objectives of implementing reliable tools for energy use optimization and for green energy sources exploitation in animal farming, we investigated the energy consumption and production during a three year period in a study farm hosting a rooftop photovoltaic system and a mini-turbine.Consumption data, collected by detection and in depth analysis of equipment involved in different production cycles, were used to develop and validate a mathematical optimization model, leading to significant energy and money savings through the replacement of actual with alternative and more energy efficient equipment.Environmental parameters in the same animal farming context, with special regard to solar irradiation and wind speed, were surveyed and employed as input data to run specific simulation software applications that estimated the expected energy production levels of the photovoltaic and wind power systems. The output of these simulations, based on actual and estimated environmental data, was compared to the green energy produced in the farm, which allowed to quantify the deviation between actual and estimated values.Everything considered, the application of this study approach on a larger scale will generate useful tools for farm management toward general economical benefits and a higher environmental responsibility.