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Alternative Energy Sources and Energy Infrastructure for Dutch Greenhouses — Investigating Growers’ Preferences

Araghi, Y.; Dijkema, G.P.J.; (2015) Alternative Energy Sources and Energy Infrastructure for Dutch Greenhouses — Investigating Growers’ Preferences. In: Dolan, T. and Collins, B., (eds.) International Symposium for Next Generation Infrastructure Conference Proceedings: 30 September - 1 October 2014 International Institute of Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA),Schloss Laxenburg, Vienna, Austria. (pp. pp. 199-203). UCL STEaPP: London, UK. Green open access

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Abstract

Growing plants, vegetables and flowers in greenhouses constitutes the core business and capability of the Dutch horticulture industry. Greenhouse owners in the Netherlands use advanced technology to maintain the quality of products and to remain competitive in international markets despite high cost of labour and energy. Today, Dutch greenhouse growers mainly depend on natural gas for heating their greenhouses. Next to boilers, many units of combined heat and power (CHP) have been installed over the last decade which deliver heat, produce electricity and even CO2 for more efficient crop harvesting. However, the sector has come to realize that, in foreseeable future, they need to switch to other energy sources to secure their energy supply and increase the sustainability of their business for reasons of depleting natural gas, and fierce market competition. The sunk investments in energy technology are enormous and largely depend on regional energy infrastructure for gas, electricity, heat and CO2. Furthermore, growers are exposed to gas, electricity and CO2 markets and must face their rising prices. Adopting alternative sources and technologies requires substantial investment and carries substantial risk. All these considerations make the decision process to adopt new energy source a complicated and fuzzy one. In this study, we investigate growers’ preferences and opinions regarding three potential alternative energy sources and associated technologies: solar thermal energy, geothermal energy and biogas. We use established methods from consumer behaviour theory and choice-modelling to elucidate how growers form an opinion and decide on the next technology to employ and grow their business.

Type: Proceedings paper
Title: Alternative Energy Sources and Energy Infrastructure for Dutch Greenhouses — Investigating Growers’ Preferences
Event: International Symposium for Next Generation Infrastructure Conference (ISNGI 2014)
Location: International Institute of Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), Schloss Laxenburg, Vienna, Austria
Dates: 30 September - 1 October 2014
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
Publisher version: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/steapp/isngi/proceedings
Language: English
Keywords: Greenhouse, Alternative Energy, Choice modelling, Stated Preferences, Attitudes
UCL classification: UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science > STEaPP
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1469396
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