Report on the behalf of the Parliamentary Office for the assessment of scientific and technological choices. Agriculture in front of the challenge of energy production - National Assembly N. 3220, Senate N. 646

After a synthetic presentation of some observations regarding energy production in relationship with agricultural activities, and of a set of general and sector-based recommendations in relationship with the post-Covid-19 recovery plan, this parliamentary report first describes the adopted approach (procedure and agenda, scope of investigation, method based on hearings), and then proposes an overview of some contextual aspects regarding the energy field, energy policies and energy programming, and the agricultural sector. It addresses and discusses the different stakes of energy production by the agricultural sector: general stakes, legal framework and production incentives, sector-based presentation (biomass and biogas, biofuels, wind energy, thermal and photovoltaic solar energy, other energy sources), and technological perspectives of renewable energies in agricultural lands. The authors discuss and outline the existence of uneven environmental impacts and of contrasted efficiencies: environmental assessments for the different energy sources, transverse challenge of carbon storage in soils, efficiencies. They identify and comment various brakes for this development: costly and poorly profitable energies requiring significant investments, access to land and usage conflicts, intermittency and technological challenge of electricity storage, political, administrative and legal brakes, and lack of specialised training. In order to propose a comparative overview, the situations at the European level and in some European countries (Germany, Netherlands, United Kingdom, Italy, Spain) and in the USA are presented. A set of propositions is finally stated.