Sunny farms in the north

About the project

The Sunny Agriculture in the North project lasted from September 2019 until June 2022. It aimed to increase farmers’ knowledge of solar and electricity storage, in order to increase the proportion of solar and the degree of self-sufficiency in agriculture in northern Sweden.

The project was aimed at active agriculture defined as conducting activities that produced, bred or cultivated agricultural and horticultural products, which included grain and milking for animal production or other production. Owning only one agricultural property was therefore not counted.

After an initial phase in which knowledge-enhancing materials and a basis for the procurement of solar systems were produced, in the spring of 2020, six seminars were devoted to Norrbotten and Västerbotten, three in each county and which ended with a webinar. During the late summer of 2020, the procurement documentation was tested via a pilot procurement for AgroPark carried out by Hushållningssällskapet Norrbotten Västerbotten and with support from the project. After some minor adjustments to the procurement documentation, the project has carried out four joint procurements, for a total of 58 farms, which received 174 tenders received from 13 different local, regional and national solar suppliers. During the project, eight other seminars, webinars, and meetings were also held, for example on solar for banks, and solar and battery storage.

Results and comparisons after completed procurements

The figure below shows the specific construction cost (total) depending on the size of the facilities, partly for the national compilations that are made annually in Sweden and a number of other countries (IEA PVPS), partly for the procurements made with the support of the project.

Solar cell parks

During the last year of the project, photovoltaic parks were also included in the work. That work began with an initial increase in knowledge for interested farmers. Thereafter, the project supported the landowners who wanted to proceed in the process of producing information about the conditions for a photovoltaic park on their land.

The project was funded by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development, the Swedish Farmers’ Association, the Norrbotten Region, the Västerbotten Region, the County Administrative Board of Norrbotten, the County Administrative Board of Västerbotten, the Längmanska Entrepreneurship Fund and the Green Industries Project in Piteå.

Source – Published by Energikontor Norr in August 14, 2019