Assessing the Feasibility of Microgrid Supported Open Hydroponics (MSOHCC) for A Resilient Fresh Food Supply in SIDS

Abstract

Small island developing states (SIDS) are extremely susceptible to the damages brought upon by intensifying climate change such as hurricanes and typhoons whose intensities have been exacerbated by higher storm surges due to sea level rise and by more intense winds due to higher ocean surface temperatures in the tropics. Hurricanes can severely damage domestic food production on SIDS while simultaneously compromising the infrastructure for food imports. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2017), almost every SIDS imports over 60% of their food supply and over 50% of SIDS imports over 80%. In some SIDS, as much as 95% of the food consumed is imported (Food and Agriculture Organization, 2008).As such, SIDS present a case study of a region that is extremely vulnerable to food insecurity due to intensifying climate change, decreasing amounts of arable land, decreasing availability of freshwater resources, and increasing global population, which all threaten the global food system (supply, production, processing, distribution, and consumption) due to disruptions in conventional crop cultivation (CCC). Our goal is to assess the potential for Microgrid Supported Open Hydroponic Crop Cultivation (MSOHCC) to be an effective complement to current food security initiatives in SIDS. As part of this overarching goal, we will start by determining how Hydroponic Crop Cultivation (HCC) can be utilized as an alternative to CCC in providing food security. We will then determine how MSOHCC can promote sustainable agriculture specifically in SIDS by providing climate resilience and energy efficient solutions. We will finally determine how MSOHCC can deliver economic opportunity to local SIDS economies by giving local residents the ability to produce locally grown food.The project team will grow lettuce seeds in a prototype MSOHCC unit that is powered by a solar panel. The growing conditions will be akin to those of the conditions that may be encountered in SIDS. The results will be compared to those of common lettuce yields from CCC methods to see if MSOHCC can be used as an alternative and/or as a supplement to CCC. For the MSOHCC unit itself, the team will measure the amount of lettuce harvested (kg), water used (L), energy used (kW), and land area utilized (sq. m). These results will be compared to those of lettuce yields from CCC.