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| Scientists in Korea and Britain have designed a solar-powered energy system for a smart farm in Naju, South Jeolla Province, which can reduce carbon dioxide emissions by up to almost 90 percent compared to conventional fossil-based energy systems. Courtesy of?Korea Institute of Industrial Technology |
By Holly Chik
In a greenhouse in the southwestern Korean city of Naju, bell peppers, tomatoes, apples and mangos are being grown at their ideal temperatures. As the farm runs, scientists remotely monitor real-time data such as electricity consumption from regulating the indoor atmosphere.
Unlike conventional systems that rely on fossil fuels, the smart farm is powered mainly by solar energy to maintain stable temperatures all year round, cutting up to almost 90 percent of carbon dioxide emissions, according to a group of international scientists.
The self-sufficient energy system design sheds light on how the farming sector could transition to renewable energy solutions, the researchers from the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology (KITECH), the University of Sheffield and the University of Hull in Britain said.
"This study presents a new hybrid renewable decentralized energy system that is designed to satisfy the requirements for heating, cooling, and electricity of a smart farm in South Korea," the researchers wrote in an article published in the peer-reviewed journal International Journal of Energy Research in July.
South Korea, the world's 8th largest energy consumer, is heavily dependent on fossil fuels. It aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent from the 2018 peak levels by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.
The government plans to transition the agriculture industry into low-carbon and sustainable by expanding smart farms and developing low-carbon production technologies and machinery, according to the Ministry of Environment.
On food security, the government aims to boost its self-sufficiency rate to 55.5 percent by 2027 from 44.4 percent in 2021, according to the agriculture ministry.
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| The new energy system makes it greener to maintain stable temperatures inside a greenhouse in Naju, South Jeolla Province. Courtesy of?Korea Institute of Industrial Technology |
In the study of the proposed system, solar panels are used to power a heat pump, which works as both coolers and heaters under different seasons to control the temperature in the greenhouse. The heat pump is connected to a water tank that stores and provides the energy of hot or cold water.
The scientists also introduced a wood pellet boiler to use the low carbon-emitting fuel as a backup heat source, according to the study.
Co-author Yang Won, a principal researcher of the carbon neutral technology R&D department at KITECH, told The Korea Times that the greenhouse serves as a test bed of the new energy model.
"This smart farm is an example of the approach to energy system optimization targeted at reducing carbon emission in an economical way," Yang said.?
He said the solar panels remain the most costly part of the system, and its economic feasibility could be improved with the support of government policy that encourages the use of renewable energy.
The team continued to improve the system, including redirecting the low amount of carbon dioxide generated from the wood pellet boiler to the greenhouse to fertilize plants, which would see its photosynthesis rate sped up, according to Yang.
"In Korea, smart farms will be a kind of next-generation agriculture, along with city farms - agriculture in a building," he said.
He added that the team is working on expanding the energy system optimization strategy into factories and industrial processes, such as manufacturing and iron and steel making, to contribute to overall greenhouse gas emissions reduction.
Holly Chik is a science reporter with the South China Morning Post. She is currently based in Seoul, reporting for both The Korea Times and the South China Morning Post under an exchange program.
