Possibilities of decarbonizing food processing industries in the island of Crete, Greece

Industrial decarbonization is necessary for climate change mitigation. Although elimination of carbon emissions in few industrial sectors is rather difficult food industries can easily eliminate their carbon footprint. The decarbonization of various food industries including olive mills, wineries and cheese making plants in Crete, Greece has been examined. These industries use mainly conventional energy sources and fuels for heat and power generation. Data from existing literature regarding the energy consumption and carbon emissions in similar plants have been used. Several renewable and clean energy technologies including solar photovoltaic, solar thermal, biomass burning and heat pumps can be used in these industries meeting their operational power, heat and cooling demand. Solar energy and solid biomass resources are abundant in Crete while they are currently used in the island for heat and power generation. The carbon emissions per unit of product in olive mills is lower than the corresponding emissions in wineries and cheese making plants. Therefore, decarbonization of olive mills, wineries and cheese making plants in Crete can be easily achieved using various mature, reliable and cost-efficient sustainable energy technologies. The results can be used by policy makers, local authorities and the owners of olive mills, wineries and cheese making plants in Crete.