Moldova , Azerbaïdjan , Montenegro , Albania , Armenia , Bosnia-Herzegovina , Georgia , Croatia , Macedonia , Serbia , Turkey , Ukrain , Kosovo

Study on the energy-saving potential of agricultural machinery and equipment

EXPERTISE : , Financing Mechanisms and Fund Management
SECTOR : , Industrial

client

GGF Technical Assistance Facility

project description

The Green for Growth Fund, Southeast Europe (GGF) has begun actively offering dedicated energy efficiency (EE) and renewable energy (RE) credit lines in Southeastern and Eastern Europe. To help promote EE and reduce CO2 emissions, the Fund is investing long-term dedicated funds in financial institutions (FIs), which in turn provide medium- to long-term loans to SMEs, households and municipalities. Among other eligibility criteria, the FI is required to achieve an average minimum 20% primary energy and/or CO₂ savings across its aggregated sub-loan portfolio and an average minimum 15% for each individual project.

Some EE measures eligible for financing through the GGF are defined as standardized measures under which the savings of primary energy and CO2 are based on a typical baseline defined and compared with the typical consumption and emissions of new equipment. These calculations are performed automatically by eSave, the Fund’s Web-based monitoring and reporting tool, thus allowing the staff of GGF’s local partner FIs to quickly verify the eligibility of planned investments.

Considering the significant role of agriculture in the economies of the region targeted by the GGF and the high estimated potential for EE investments, the Fund initiated a study to identify the types of agricultural equipment that could be financed through the GGF facility as standardized EE measures.

In 2012-2013, Econoler completed a first assignment that was focused on five countries, namely Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia, Moldova, Serbia and Ukraine. Econoler was then given a second assignment at the end of 2013 that was focused on eight other countries, namely Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Croatia, Georgia, Kosovo, Montenegro, and Turkey.

A third assignment was carried out in early 2016 to update the baselines (by considering the changes of the machinery offered in the market) and the associated calculation algorithms.

 

highlights

The overall objective of the study was to identify existing or new standard EE measures which could be financed through the GGF for the agricultural sector of the thirteen targeted countries. The study assessed the energy-saving and CO2 reduction potential associated with the proposed EE measures, which involved replacing energy-intensive equipment with new units or adding new equipment (in cases with high savings potential).

The three assignments involved conducting a literature review, surveys and interviews with key stakeholders, and collecting agriculture-related data in all the countries to:

  • define the most common agricultural equipment with the required potential for energy savings and CO2 emission reductions; and
  • assess the potential for standardizing the savings calculations.

The second assignment also involved:

  • evaluating the relevance of the measures defined in the first assignment and making recommendations for adjustments, as deemed appropriate; and
  • assessing the potential for implementing additional applicable measures.

The third assignment was focused on updating the baseline and the calculation algorithms.

The following energy-saving measures were identified:

  • High-efficiency single- and double-axle tractors, with/without the electronic control unit (ECU);
  • Tractors with power take-off (PTO) shaft 540E and 1000E;
  • Tractors equipped with PowerBoost technology;
  • Tractors with continuously variable transmission (CVT);
  • Energy-saving options on tractors, such as three-point hitches at the front, tire pressure regulation system and GPS;
  • Replacement of conventional tillage machinery with conservation tillage machinery (reduced tillage, mulch tillage, partial width tillage, direct seeding in furrows, and direct seeding in holes);
  • Installation of heat exchangers at dairy farms;
  • Replacement of old combines by EE combines;
  • Switching from a less efficient irrigation scheme to a more efficient one (surface to sprinkler, surface to drip or sprinkler to drip, as well as pump/motor replacement).

Finally, the study was focused on defining and calculating the baselines for energy-saving potential for the newly selected measures and enabled the evaluation of the overall potential of each measure in each targeted country. This study confirmed the eligibility of all identified measures as standard GGF measures since they had the potential to save more than 22% of primary energy and/or CO2 emissions.

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