What do we see?
In the year 2021, total net primary energy consumption in the agricultural sector was 32,161 terajoules (TJ), or 32.16 petajoules (PJ). These figures show a 28% increase compared to 2012. Natural gas is the main energy carrier, this is partly due to the promotion of natural gas as the cleanest fossil fuel by the Flemish government and the rise of combined heat and power (CHP) plants. The latter development and the increasing installation of solar panels mean that the Flemish agricultural sector has increasingly become a net producer of electricity: in 2021, the agricultural sector placed 5,102 TJ more electricity on the grid than it consumed.
What’s the aim?
Energy is needed for food production. Energy production requires materials and creates negative impacts. In a circular economy, we want to produce food with proportionately as little energy consumption as possible. So we need to use available energy resources more efficiently and rely more on renewable energy sources such as solar and wind.
