Electricity in organic and conventional farms - economic value of environmental damage

The aim of this study was to determine the economic value of the environmental impact of electricity used in agricultural production in organic and conventional farms in Poland in relation to cropped area and production value. This study investigated the use of electricity from the grid and that generated using photovoltaic panels. Farm models were constructed based on FADN data. Environmental damage was evaluated by applying the Environmental Prices method with the use of the SimaPro 9.3 program. Results were expressed in prices of 2022. The environmental impact of electricity used in organic farms investigated in this study amounted to 2267 euro/ha and 31.14 euro/1000 euro of production value, while in conventional farms, it was 32.33 euro/ha and 19.27 euro/1000 euro of production value when only energy from the grid was used. In turn, the use of energy generated by photovoltaic panels made it possible to considerably reduce environmental pressure. In the case of organic farms, the recorded indexes were 1.68 euro/ha and 2.31 euro/1000 euro of production value, whereas, in conventional farms, it was 2.72 euro/ha and 1.62 euro/1000 euro of production value. These results indicate that the use of electricity for production in organic farms generates less environmental damage than in the case of conventional farms per unit area, whereas, for the respective figures in relation to production value, an opposite relationship was found.