Renewable Energy & Agriculture
Learn how clean energy can power irrigation, processing, cold storage and stronger rural businesses. Explore the technology, plan your farm's energy needs and connect with agricultural service providers.
Illustrative stock photograph of solar agriculture; not an FPI installation.
The Energy Matrix
Solar: Photovoltaic panels provide electricity for suitable pumps, refrigeration, lighting and processing equipment; solar thermal systems provide useful heat. Agrivoltaics combines farming with solar generation. Assess shading, crop response, machinery access, demand timing and maintenance.
Wind: Turbines turn moving air into mechanical power or electricity. Wind pumping and electrical generation meet different needs. Resource measurement, siting and maintenance determine suitability; a turbine is not appropriate for every farm.
Bioenergy: Suitable organic residues can provide heat, electricity or fuel through appropriate technologies. Anaerobic digestion produces biogas and digestate. Assess feedstock continuity, competing uses, gas safety, emissions and nutrient management.
Hydropower: Flowing or falling water can turn a turbine where usable flow, elevation and permissions allow. Seasonal water availability and downstream users matter. Pumped storage stores energy; it does not create extra energy.
Geothermal: Suitable underground heat resources can support thermal uses. Ground-source heat pumps exchange heat with the ground and require electricity. The resource and application need local assessment.
Ocean energy: Waves and tides offer opportunities in suitable coastal settings. For inland Botswana farms this is a global-learning topic, not a direct on-farm installation recommendation.
Solar energy — illustrative stock photograph
Solar energy for productive farming
Solar electricity can support water pumping, lighting, refrigeration and suitable processing equipment; solar thermal systems provide heat. Start with a list of equipment, operating hours and essential night-time loads. For irrigation, assess the water source, pumping head, crop-water demand and storage before choosing panels or a pump. Agrivoltaics needs enough light and machinery access for the crop. FPI promotes informed planning through its Academy, integrated-farming knowledge and service enquiries. Request a site assessment and compare maintenance, replacement and backup costs before investing; savings depend on the farm and system.
Wind energy — illustrative stock photograph
Wind energy for farms and clusters
Wind turbines convert moving air into mechanical power or electricity. Mechanical wind pumping and electrical generation serve different purposes. A promising regional wind map is only a starting point: measure the site's resource and assess obstacles, tower access, noise, land permissions and maintenance. Match realistic annual output to the timing of pumping, processing and cold-storage demand, allowing for calm periods. An Agriculture-Based Cluster can assess shared operation and maintenance responsibilities before considering a shared system. FPI's learning and service connections help visitors prepare an enquiry; a qualified specialist must confirm suitability and design.
Bioenergy — illustrative stock photograph
Bioenergy and circular farm resources
The photograph shows wood chips, one possible biomass fuel; it does not show a biogas plant. Bioenergy can use suitable organic resources for useful heat, power or fuels. Anaerobic digestion uses appropriate wet feedstocks to produce biogas and digestate, while dry biomass may suit controlled thermal processes. Audit feedstock quantity, quality, competing soil and livestock uses, transport and reliable energy demand. Plan emissions control, trained operation and nutrient management. Digester gas and confined spaces need specialist safety procedures. FPI encourages whole-system thinking so energy recovery supports farm productivity without removing essential soil cover or promising automatic profit.
Hydropower — illustrative stock photograph
Hydropower where water resources permit
Flowing water with usable head can drive a turbine. Farm or cluster projects need measured flow through the dry season, a surveyed elevation difference, environmental safeguards and the required water and land permissions. Existing irrigation channels may merit assessment, but an ordinary borehole or flat reservoir does not automatically provide a hydro resource. Consider sediment, intake protection, downstream users and safe maintenance access. Pumped storage consumes electricity to store water at height and returns less energy later. FPI promotes informed feasibility enquiries; this illustrative dam is not an FPI project or a recommendation to build a dam.
Geothermal energy — natural underground heat resource; illustrative stock photograph
Geothermal heat and farm applications
This photograph illustrates a natural geothermal resource, not a completed agricultural installation. Where suitable resources exist, geothermal heat may support greenhouses, drying and other thermal processes. Ground-source heat pumps are a different option: they move heat and require electricity. Begin with the temperature needed, annual heating or cooling demand, geology, water chemistry and the cost of a specialist survey. Do not infer commercial potential from a photograph or a hot spring alone. FPI connects this topic to agricultural learning and planning; drilling, resource confirmation, environmental assessment and final design require qualified specialists.
Ocean energy — wave resource, not an installed generator; illustrative stock photograph
Ocean energy and coastal agribusiness
Waves, tides and currents can provide energy in suitable coastal settings. The photograph shows a wave resource, not an installed generator. Coastal enterprises may investigate future links to aquaculture, ice production, water treatment and cold chains, subject to technology maturity, reliable output and local economics. Marine projects require navigation, ecology, corrosion and maintenance assessment. Botswana's inland farms do not have a direct ocean-energy resource: this is a global learning topic for FPI's international audience. Compare locally suitable energy options first and ask for independently supported feasibility evidence before making a financial commitment.
Learn how farm energy systems work
Solar irrigation: sunlight produces electricity for a controlled pump. Water storage can help match pumping time with irrigation needs. Plan abstraction around sustainable water availability, crop demand and the site’s technical requirements. This is a simplified FPI teaching illustration, not a final installation design.
Biogas systems: suitable organic feedstocks are digested to produce biogas and digestate. Feedstock supply, gas safety, emissions and nutrient management require specialist planning. This FPI teaching illustration shows the main pathways, not a design for construction.
Energy across the value chain
Irrigation: combine pumping with efficient distribution, crop-water planning and sustainable abstraction. Agro-processing: match electricity and heat to milling, drying, washing and packaging loads. Cold storage: plan cooling, insulation, handling and reliable supply together. Rural enterprise: assess shared cooling, processing and maintenance services against real demand. Potential benefits include reduced fossil-fuel dependence, better control of running costs, support for product quality and stronger operational resilience. Outcomes depend on design, financing, maintenance and local conditions; savings and sales are not guaranteed.
People, learning and opportunity
FPI promotes renewable-energy understanding through practical learning, Agriculture Systems Integration, project enquiries and service registration. Farmers and enterprises can prepare an energy brief and request relevant connections for an initial matching assessment. Within Agriculture-Based Clusters, energy should be considered alongside water, soils, production, processing, logistics and markets, with clear ownership, service charges and maintenance responsibilities. Build opportunities for women and young people through accessible training, equipment skills and enterprise participation. FPI confirms the availability, scope and fees of any specific support before work starts.
Connect with FPI
Register as a service provider or register a service request. The existing USD 2 one-time registration fee covers processing and an initial matching assessment. Equipment, technical assessments, installation and other services require separate quotations. Registration does not guarantee a match or contract.
Choose the provider role to offer services, or the service-seeker role to request agricultural support.
Learn, compare and plan
Before purchasing equipment, list each load, its rated power and operating hours. Daily energy in kWh is estimated as watts x hours / 1,000. This is a planning exercise; final design must also account for starting surges, losses, seasonal demand, storage and backup. Ask who maintains the system and what water, land, grid and environmental permissions are needed.
REN21 Renewables 2025 Global Status Report reports a 17.8% renewable share of agriculture-sector final energy use in 2022. Keep the reporting year and sector definition with the figure; it is not a measure of the whole food supply chain.