Session: 03-04: Innovative Energy Storage Solutions for Resilient Communities

Paper Number: 156129

156129 - Environmental Burden Predictive Tools for the Controlled Environment Agriculture Industry 

Abstract: 

The sustainability challenges in agriculture demand innovative tools that enable efficient resource management and minimize environmental impacts. Our user-friendly predictive tools, the Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) Calculator and the interactive map, are unique in their ability to streamline the process of assessing environmental burdens and foster the implementation of sustainable practices in the CEA sector. The CEA Calculator, developed in Microsoft Excel, allows users to predict carbon footprint, Scope 1 and 2 water footprint, and water scarcity footprint based on facility location, power consumption, and on-site water use. The calculator also provides a relative magnitude of these footprints for the chosen location compared to all other counties in the contiguous U.S. The interactive map, created using graphical user interface development tools in MATLAB, visualizes these predicted impacts in all contiguous U.S. counties, providing color coding to enable a geographical comparison. Users can choose which footprint to visualize on the map, and the tool indicates the relative environmental burden using a stoplight (green-yellow-red) scheme with indications of minimum and maximum potential footprint based on geographical location. These tools facilitate informed decision-making, enhancing stakeholders' capability to implement effective sustainability strategies.

Scott County, Virginia was used as a case study for the Quick Calculator. The analysis of the Quick Calculator provides insight into environmental footprints for Scott County and evaluates the impact of different sustainability grant options. The tool compares Scott County's environmental footprints carbon footprint (CF), water footprint (WF), and water scarcity footprint (WSF) to equivalent facilities across other U.S. counties. The findings reveal that Scott County has a relatively low carbon footprint, placing it in the 35th percentile, and a low water scarcity footprint, in the 22nd percentile, compared to other contiguous U.S. counties. However, its water footprint is relatively high, ranking in the 81st percentile. An extension of the case study examines the hypothetical use of funds for facility upgrades to mitigate environmental burden in one of two ways: a 10% reduction in power usage or a 20% reduction in water usage. Again, reducing power results in a 10% decrease in the carbon footprint, with minimal changes in water-related metrics. In contrast, reducing water achieves a 19% drop in both the water footprint and water scarcity footprint, while the carbon footprint remains unchanged. This comparison suggests that a 20% reduction in water usage has a more significant impact on environmental footprints for this county.

A case study was also used for the Interactive Map by examining a potential relocation of the Scott County, VA facility to one of either Maine, California, or Texas. The Interactive Map use case also presents an assessment of environmental footprints across different U.S. sites, using color-coded maps to visualize emissions. For each site, the maps indicate how relocation affects environmental burdens. For example, Texas counties generally have low-to-medium carbon footprint, whereas California’s counties have a high carbon footprint, and Maine’s counties have a low carbon footprint. The results visually illustrate how geographical location can impact each footprint type, enabling informed decisions about facility sitting based on environmental impact.

The sequence of ideas in the presentation underscores the transformative potential of the CEA Calculator and the interactive map in advancing environmental stewardship within the CEA industry. The presentation includes typical use cases, demonstrating how these tools can influence siting and design decisions for new facilities. By significantly reducing the CEA ecological burden and enabling key data analysis, the CEA Calculator and the interactive map can promote the adoption of sustainable practices.

Presenting Author: Appertey Joseph Villanova University

Presenting Author Biography: Joseph Appertey is a Masters student in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Villanova University working on predicting and reducing the environmental impacts associated with controlled environment agriculture facilities. He has interests in sustainable engineering and thermal-fluid systems.