JOHN HOLLAND GROUP - UTILITIES DIVISION
that essentially decouples food production from those resources , by relying on nature ’ s abundance of sunlight and saltwater to grow the world ’ s food industry — not just profitably , but also sustainably . “ Sundrop Farms is using solar energy to provide power to the greenhouse , heat within the greenhouse , and to run the thermal desalination plant that provides water to the greenhouse ,” Shepherd explains .
“ It ’ s a truly ‘ off grid ’ agricultural enterprise , in that it can run predominately if not solely off of the water grid and off the power grid . It is the first time the combination of all of those pieces of technology has been brought together in one integrated solution .”
Sundrop Farms recently produced its first crop , and it will ultimately deliver around 16,000 tonnes of tomatoes to national supermarket chain , Coles .
The farm is strategically located at Port Augusta in South Australia , due to its positive Direct Normal Irradiance , and also because its produce can be readily ferried to the eastern states and western Australia by intermodal transport ..
“ It ’ s an exciting project to be a part of and it ’ s certainly very satisfying to see that first crop of red tomatoes . As the world population increases , and we end up with a megatrend of urbanisation happening across some very large , intensively populated countries , how people are catered for is going to become an increasingly important question ,” Shepherd says .
“ Innovation and technology has no small part to play in the future of the water sector globally , and with continued urbanisation of the world , secure water is at the heart of creating economic prosperity , and liveable cities that meet societal needs .”
130 September 2016