Development of a Tool for Optimizing Solar and Battery Storage for Container Farming in a Remote Arctic Microgrid

Daniel J. Sambor, Michelle Wilber, Erin Whitney and Mark Z. Jacobson
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Daniel J. Sambor: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
Michelle Wilber: Alaska Center for Energy and Power, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK 99775, USA
Erin Whitney: Alaska Center for Energy and Power, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK 99775, USA
Mark Z. Jacobson: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA

Energies, 2020, vol. 13, issue 19, 1-18

Abstract: High transportation costs make energy and food expensive in remote communities worldwide, especially in high-latitude Arctic climates. Past attempts to grow food indoors in these remote areas have proven uneconomical due to the need for expensive imported diesel for heating and electricity. This study aims to determine whether solar photovoltaic (PV) electricity can be used affordably to power container farms integrated with a remote Arctic community microgrid. A mixed-integer linear optimization model (FEWMORE: Food–Energy–Water Microgrid Optimization with Renewable Energy) has been developed to minimize the capital and maintenance costs of installing solar photovoltaics (PV) plus electricity storage and the operational costs of purchasing electricity from the community microgrid to power a container farm. FEWMORE expands upon previous models by simulating demand-side management of container farm loads. Its results are compared with those of another model (HOMER) for a test case. FEWMORE determined that 17 kW of solar PV was optimal to power the farm loads, resulting in a total annual cost decline of ~14% compared with a container farm currently operating in the Yukon. Managing specific loads appropriately can reduce total costs by ~18%. Thus, even in an Arctic climate, where the solar PV system supplies only ~7% of total load during the winter and ~25% of the load during the entire year, investing in solar PV reduces costs.

Keywords: microgrid; container farm; solar photovoltaics (PV); renewable energy; storage (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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