Local heat, local food: Integrating vertical hydroponic farming with district heating in Sweden

Matthew Gentry

Energy, 2019, vol. 174, issue C, 191-197

Abstract: By 2050, it is estimated that 70% of the world's population will live in urban areas. This growth in cities creates a demand for fresh produce to ensure a healthy population, produce that often has to travel a long way to reach the consumer, not only losing quality and nutrition along the way, but also requiring a significant fossil fuel cost for transportation and storage. The average plate of food will travel over 2400 km before it reaches your plate. There is potential within District heating (DH) areas to move farming indoors and into the heart of the urban environment. Vertical hydroponic farming (VHF) offers many advantages over conventional farming including more efficient water and land use, and vastly reduced transport costs if it is performed in the urban area. For this model to become economically sustainable however, it must be intelligently integrated into existing urban infrastructure. A mutually beneficial relationship with DH is possible whereby VHFs are integrated to feed back into the DH system, lower the return temperature in line with 4th Generation District Heating guidelines, and reduce CO2 emissions in food and energy production.

Keywords: 4th Generation District Heating; Hydroponic farming; CO2 reduction; Smart energy; Plant factories; Vertical farming (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:energy:v:174:y:2019:i:c:p:191-197

DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2019.02.119

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