Environmental research

Albania at the present is characterized by small agricultural farms. Farmers have low investing power and very limited access to credit lines from banks that consider the agriculture as high risk investment. Due to the relatively mild winters and low access to the European markets, farmers tend to maximize their profit by entering the local market as early as possible in the season by growing vegetables in green houses. A heated greenhouse gives to the farmer typically 2-3 months head start in the local market and by doing so secures significant income. The high price of fossil fuels has made not feasible heating the greenhouse. The situation is similar in the summer months when farms suffer the lack of irrigation due to high energy prices and lack of irrigation systems. This situation has made very attractive the use of alternative sources of energy such as biomass, solar or geothermal. This project focuses on the use of biomass that remains as the byproduct of olive oil production called pomace for heating the greenhouse and the use of portable solar photovoltaic water pumps for irrigation.

Albania