Journal of Agriculture & Life Sciences

Possibilities of Using Renewable Energy Sources for Covering all the Energy Needs of Agricultural Greenhouses
John Vourdoubas

Abstract
Renewable energy sources are used worldwide for generation of heat, power and the production of vehicle fuels. They can cover all the energy needs of agricultural greenhouses with a cost effective way. Among renewable energies solar energy, biomass and geothermal energy can be used for providing heat, cooling and electricity to them. Production of various crops from agricultural greenhouses with zero CO2 emissions due to energy use could make their products very attractive to environmentally conscious consumers and this could be an effective marketing tool. Agricultural greenhouses consume energy for heating and cooling as well as for lighting and operation of various machinery. Depending on the local climate greenhouses consume mainly energy for heating, approx 90-95% of the total annual needs and the rest for electricity. The abovementioned renewable energy sources can be used in a reliable and cost effective way for covering all their energy needs. Two greenhouses are presented where in the first use of solid biomass and solar PV energy and in the second use of low enthalpy geothermal energy and solar PV energy cover all their energy requirement s increasing their sustainability and reducing their CO2 emissions due to energy use.

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