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 "Medidas de Ahorro y Eficiencia en la Agricultura"  (Brochure: Energy saving and efficiency measures in Agriculture) During the preparation of the E4 energy strategy the decision was made to include agriculture as a sector for specific action, highlighting the importance energy efficiency measures can have on the future of this strategic sector...
 

"Ahorro y eficiencia energética en agricultura de regadío" (Energy saving and efficiency in irrigation farming)
No other European country, not even other countries in the Mediterranean, have such a large proportion of semi-arid land as Spain, where it accounts for more than two thirds of the country's land, nor such a large area of irrigated land. Also, analysing rain and evapotranspiration patterns, it is easy to observe that our country has ...
 

"Ahorro y eficiencia energética en instalaciones ganaderas"  (Energy saving and efficiency in livestock installations). Intensive stock-rearing, particularly of pigs and poultry, are in a state of continuous development due, firstly to the application of new health and environmental regulations, and secondly, the restructuring of the sector to adapt to levels of ...
 

Auditorías Energéticas en Instalaciones Ganaderas. Parte 1: Manual para la realización de auditorías energéticas en instalaciones ganaderas.
(Energy audits in livestock installations. Part 1: Manual to carry out energy audits in livestock installations).

Auditorías Energéticas en Instalaciones Ganaderas. Parte 2: Protocolo para la realización de auditorías energéticas en instalaciones ganaderas y ejemplos de auditorías en cuatro instalaciones.
(Energy audits in livestock installations. Part 2: Protocol  to carry out energy audits in livestock installations and examples of audits in four installations).

"Ahorro de combustible en el tractor agrícola"
(Fuel saving in the farming tractor) The decision which has the biggest impact on diesel consumption on a farm is the choice of crops and the type and number of operations each of them requires. However, once this decision has been made, the selection and adaptation of machinery ...
 

"Consumos energéticos en las operaciones agrícolas en España" , Energy consumptions in farming operations in Spain, co-edited with the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food 

"Ahorro, eficiencia energética y Sistemas de Laboreo Agrícola" (Saving, Energy Efficiency and Tilling Systems)
Tilling the soil is the agricultural task which consumes the greatest quantity of fuel in the case of extensive crops. Thus the choice of the most appropriate tillage system in each case is very important when aiming to achieve maximum energy efficiency.
 

"Ahorro, eficiencia energética y Estructura de la Explotación Agrícola"
(Saving, Energy Efficiency & Structure of the Farming Exploitation) To round off the trilogy on saving diesel in agriculture (the previous titles focused on tractors and agricultural tasks) this publication looks at the structure and size of farms as a decisive factor in energy saving in view of the efficiency of agricultural work.
 

"Ahorro, eficiencia energética y Fertilización Nitrogenada" (Energy saving and efficiency and nitrogen-based fertilisers.
Nitrogen-based fertilisers are applied to improve crop productivity. However, like water and energy, both their production and application needs to be handled efficiently. This publication presents the high energy cost of nitrogenated mineral fertilisers and analyses the alternatives allowing their use on farms to be minimised or at least for them to be used as efficiently as possible.
 

“Ahorro y Eficiencia Energética en Invernaderos” (Energy Saving and Efficiency in Greenhouses)
Disproportionate energy consumption not only has a negative impact on the environment, but it also has a negative effect on agriculture's bottom line and how it is perceived by society. The average energy spending by greenhouses has grown in recent years, largely as a result of their inefficient energy use. This publication describes greenhouses' energy needs and goes on to suggest a series of specific measures allowing energy efficiency to be improved and savings to be made, and also outlines the possibilities for using renewable energy sources in these agricultural production systems.
 

“Protocolo de Auditoría Energética en Invernaderos. Auditoría energética de un invernadero para cultivo de flor cortada en Mendigorría” (Energy Audit Protocol for Greenhouses. Energy audit on a greenhouse for the cultivation of cut flowers in Mendigorría).
This publication, as a continuation of the previous one (Ahorro y Eficiencia Energética en Invernaderos) gives a more detailed account of how to calculate a greenhouse's energy balance and develops a model protocol for an energy audit with a worked example. The aim is for this greenhouse energy audit protocol to be a useful tool in evaluating and reducing, where possible, the energy consumption and running costs of horticultural greenhouses.
 

“Ahorro y Eficiencia Energética en las Comunidades de Regantes”.
Energy saving and efficiency in Irrigation Associations.
 

“Protocolo de Auditoría Energética en las Comunidades de Regantes” (Energy Audit Protocol for Irrigators' Communities).
The 2008-2012 Action Plan under the E4 energy efficiency strategy envisages measures aimed at irrigation agriculture focusing on makign the switch from sprinkler irrigation to drip irrigation systems. It also promotes plans for energy improvements in irrigators' associations through energy audits. The IDAE has drawn up a protocol for energy audits, which is reproduced in this publication. The protocol aims to enable a diagnosis of the weak points with lowest energy efficiency in the irrigators' associations' systems and put forward solutions permitting energy efficiency improvements. This will enable reductions in energy consumption and the associated costs of irrigation agriculture.
The publication also takes the standard format of the report from a computer application called “Auditorías Energéticas en Comunidades de Regantes”. This computer application, which is database driven, allows the various audits carried out by companies specialising in this field to be automated and accumulated, so as to make it possible for knowledge acquired on the subject over time to be applied. 

 "Energy Saving and Efficiency in Energy Crops and Agriculture" 
Agriculture, as well as saving and making efficient use of diesel and the raw materials used in the production process, has another way of contributing to the policy of greenhouse gas emissions reductions, namely through the sustainable production and use of agricultural origin biomass. It will clearly be necessary to analyse the energy balance and the emission of greenhouse gases (GHG) avoided, both in the production process and in the storage and transport of biomass. It will also be necessary for there to be sufficient incentives and returns for farmers to produce biomass for energy uses, as otherwise it will not be possible for this sector to develop successfully. The aim of this publication is to inform farmers about the generation and use of biomass in the most energy efficient way, addressing them as both producers and potential users of biomass as a means of meeting their energy needs.

“Energy Saving and Efficiency through Conservation Agriculture”
In general, conventional arable farming techniques cause significant environmental degradation, and represent a model of production with considerable room for improvement from the energy point of view. Conventional agriculture, which includes practices such as intensive tilling, greatly increases soil erosion and run-off, as well as pollution of rivers with sediments, fertilisers and pesticides.  The practical application of conservation agriculture is based on a sharp reduction (indeed the elimination) of tilling. By avoiding tilling, the surface retains its plant cover, with remains of the previous crop, which, far from harming the soil, protects it from erosion and provides it with natural nutrients. It also encourages the presence of micro-organisms and fauna, which actively help the farmer improve his harvests, even though it may not seem so at first look. Lastly, the other important advantage of conservation agriculture is its improved economic returns in comparison with conventional agriculture. Tilling the soil requires significant investments in the purchase and maintenance of agricultural machinery, fuel and labour. 

"Ahorro y Eficiencia Energética en la Agricultura de Precisión".
Energy saving and efficiency in Irrigation Associations.
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"Energy Saving and Efficiency in Fishing Vessels”
The Spanish fishing fleet is the biggest in the European Union and one of the biggest in the world. The average Spanish fishing vessel exceeds the European average in terms of power and capacity, this deviation being due to the large size of Spanish freezer ships. In general, the Spanish fishing industry is far from energy efficient. With a registered fleet of more than 13,000 vessels, a third of which are over thirty years old, fuel costs are important factor in the profitability of the vessel's activity. Nevertheless, it is possible to apply techniques able to act on the industry's critical points in terms of energy, enabling production to be maintained while ensuring environmental sustainability and even increasing the profitability of fishing operations.
This publication examines the various parts of a fishing vessel from the perspective of their energy consumption, emphasising the critical points for energy consumption, offering guidelines and suggesting techniques to reduce energy consumption, both during ship design and building at the shipyards and during daily fishing operations.  A standard protocol is also developed for energy audits on fishing vessels. This is intended to be used as a tool to help companies specialising in this field to diagnose the points of least efficiency on the vessel, and to be able to put forward solutions for improvements, both in terms of the structure and habits of use, all aimed at reducing energy consumption.

"Ahorro y Eficiencia Energética en Buques de Pesca. Experiencias y Prácticas"
Energy saving and efficiency in fishing boats. Experiences and practices
 

These publications are available in print format from the IDAE's Publications Department.