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Details

  • Name

    Fábio Cruz
  • Role

    Researcher
  • Since

    01st September 2023
003
Publications

2024

Energy and Energy Communities Business Models for a Sustainable Agrifood Sector

Authors
Cruz, F; Faria, AS; Moreno, A; Mello, J; Andrade, I; Garcia, A; Villar, J;

Publication
2024 20TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON THE EUROPEAN ENERGY MARKET, EEM 2024

Abstract
Sustainable agri-food systems seek to deliver food affordably and sustainably, without compromising the economic, social, and environmental bases for current and coming generations. Food-energy systems integrating renewable energy sources contribute towards this sustainability, and new solutions are being proposed in the literature or implemented in real facilities. This work reviews the existing literature on the integration of renewable energy, cross-sector energy efficiency and flexibility approaches, circular economy, digital solutions, and energy communities' (EC) structures within the agri-food sector. It proposes a formal classification of the main solutions found and describes the associated Business Models (BMs) to support their actual development cost-effectively. The main roles, actors and value propositions are reviewed, and a case example of an EC to be developed in Portugal in the Tools4AgriEnergy project is also described. The EC is based on floating PV panels to power water distribution pumps and share the surplus with local agri-food industries.