Focus Group 'Innovative on-farm energy production systems'
How to develop and foster the adoption of context-appropriate, resilient, and farmer-centred on-farm energy systems that enhance sustainability and energy autonomy, while supporting farm viability and environmental goals?
Tasks
- update and build upon findings from the previous EIP-AGRI Focus Group on energy, considering technological advances, new business models, and evolving contexts.
- identify and assess scalable, low-risk energy solutions with realistic business cases and practical tools, while considering the environmental, economic and social impacts of on-farm energy deployment.
- collect and share innovative practices and pilot cases across Europe, showcasing examples of agrivoltaics, biogas, biofuels, energy cooperatives, and integrated systems adapted to different farm types and conditions.
- analyse key adoption barriers and ways to overcome them, including:
- high upfront investment and financing challenges
- lack of integrated advisory support
- land-use tensions and public acceptance issues
- infrastructure bottlenecks.
- identify and analyse governance models (e.g., energy cooperatives, community-based systems) that support on-farm energy production, on a regional/local scale, while ensuring farmers retain ownership and decision-making power. Highlight successful examples and propose scalable approaches.
- promote knowledge transfer and capacity building through targeted training and assistance that goes beyond investment and/or technical support to include holistic analysis and planning, taking into account the specific context, including availability of local biomass, logistics, existing infrastructure, and spatial planning requirements.
- identify further research needs from practice and possible gaps in technical knowledge.
- suggest innovative ideas for EIP-AGRI Operational Group projects and other innovation projects.
Focus Group members
| Title | First name | Last name | Country | Profession | Contact |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mr | Nicolas | Aranda Perez | Spain | Researcher | |
| Mr | Athanasios | Balafoutis | Greece | Researcher | |
| Ms | Madeleine | Breguet | France | Expert from an organisation | |
| Ms | Míriam | Cerrillo | Spain | Researcher | |
| Mr | Ioannis | Chatzieffraimidis | Greece | Farm advisor | |
| Ms | Carla | De Carolis | Italy | Expert from an organisation | |
| Mr | Stelios | Dritsas | Belgium | Expert from an organisation | |
| Mr | Seán | Finan | Ireland | Expert from an organisation | |
| Mr | Janusz | Gołaszewski | Poland | Researcher | |
| Ms | Dolores | Hidalgo | Spain | Researcher | |
| Ms | Marta | Lopes | Portugal | Researcher | |
| Mr | Sylvain | Marsac | France | Researcher | |
| Mr | Shane | McAuliffe | Ireland | Farmer | |
| Mr | Michael | Murphy | Ireland | Researcher | |
| Ms | Karin | Perdaems | Netherlands | Farm manager or owner | |
| Mr | Peter | Pickel | Germany | Researcher | |
| Ms | Magdalena | Radke | Poland | Farm advisor | |
| Mr | Ramon | Salcedo | Spain | Researcher | |
| Ms | Maria Anna | Van der Wijngaard - van der Tol | Netherlands | Farm advisor | |
| Mx | Chiara | Vicini | Italy | Researcher |
Facilitation team
| Ms | Liina | Ulm | Task Manager |
| Mr | Barry | Caslin | Co-task Manager |
| Ms | Suvi | Karirinne | Coordinating Expert |
Contact information
If you have any questions regarding this Focus Group, please get in touch with us at focusgroup.innovation@eucapnetwork.eu.
Working documents
A Starting Paper has been developed within the frame of the EU CAP Network Focus Group ‘Innovative on-farm energy production systems' with the purpose of providing input to the Focus Group discussions and final report.
The information and views set out in this Starting Paper are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official opinion of the Commission. The Commission does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this Starting Paper. Neither the Commission nor any person acting on the Commission’s behalf may be held responsible for the use which may be made of the information contained therein.
If you wish to cite this Starting Paper, please refer to it as ‘Starting Paper of the EU CAP Network Focus Group ‘Innovative on-farm energy production systems’, 2025’.
