Solar powered floating farms could help feed the world

RESTRICTIONS: NONE For story suggestions please contact tips@nextanimation.com.tw A Barcelona-based company has developed a solar powered floating farm system that could ease growing food demand around the world. Smart Floating Farms, otherwise known as SFF, was developed by Forward Thinking Architecture. The idea was inspired by traditional grid-shape fish farms in Asia. The structure is 200 meters wide and 350 meters long, which is roughly the size of 6 football fields. They can be connected to form a cluster of modules. The floating farm has three levels: the top level is installed with photovoltaic panels to harvest sunlight for electricity and it has rainwater collectors for irrigation purposes; second level serves as a greenhouse for the vegetables, which are grown without soil under the hydroponic system; and the ground level is used as a fish farm on the open sea, as well as a fish egg hatchery, a slaughterhouse and a storage room for the fish. All the modules are centrally controlled by software via Cloud technology. The production data will be analysed and can be used to make comparisons on food needs for specific cities. Each SFF is estimated to have a maximum production of 8.152 tons of vegetables and 1.703 tons of fish per year. The floating farms are ideal for densely populated cities near coastal areas such as Los Angeles, New York, Tokyo, Singapore and Hong Kong. RUNDOWN SHOWS: 1. Depiction of SFF was inspired by Asia fish farm 2. Size of a SFF; several SFFs linked together 3. Depiction of solar power technology, rainwater collection and wind turbines to be added on the top level 4. Depiction of the hydroponic system on the second level 5. Fish farm on the ground level 6. Fish egg hatchery, slaughterhouse and storage room on the ground level 7. Depiction of SFF reducing reliance on imported food 8. Depiction of several SFFs centrally controlled; data analysed for food needs in specific city 9. Maximum production of a SFF; cities suitable for SFFs VOICEOVER (in English): “Smart Floating Farms, or SFF, was inspired by traditional grid-shape fish farms in Asia.” “Each SFF is 200 meters wide and 350 meters long — roughly the size of six football fields. They can be connected to form a cluster of modules.” “Photovoltaic panels are installed on the top level to harvest sunlight for electricity and it has rainwater collectors for irrigation purposes. Other renewable energy technologies such as micro wind turbines may also be added.” “The second level is a greenhouse for the vegetables, which are grown without soil under the hydroponic system. The plants receive natural light from the skylight openings.” “The ground level is used as a fish farm on the open sea, and features a fish egg hatchery, a slaughterhouse and a storage room for the fish.” “By using farms in nearby waters as a food source, the SFF can help reduce reliance on imported food.” “All the modules are centrally controlled by software via cloud technology. The production data will be analysed and can be used to make comparisons on the food needs for specific cities.” “Each SFF is estimated to have a maximum production of just over 8 tons of vegetables and slightly over 1.7 tons of fish per year. The floating farms are ideal for densely populated cities near coastal areas, such as Los Angeles, New York, Tokyo, Singapore and Hong Kong.” SOURCES: Smart Floating Farms, Green Prophet, Ecowatch, Inhabitat http://smartfloatingfarms.com/10325487 http://www.greenprophet.com/2015/05/floating-farms-may-soon-feed-the-world/ http://ecowatch.com/2015/05/26/solar-floating-farm/ http://inhabitat.com/could-solar-powered-modular-floating-farms-be-an-answer-to-global-food-self-sufficiency/smart-floating-farms-by-forward-thinking-architecture-5/ *** For story suggestions please contact tips@nextanimation.com.tw For technical and editorial support, please contact: Asia: +61 2 93 73 1841 Europe: +44 20 7542 7599 Americas and Latam: +1 800 738 8377 ----------------------------------------­­---------------------------------------­-­---------------- Next Animation Studio’s News Direct service provides daily, high-quality, informative 3D news animations that fill in for missing footage and help viewers understand breaking news stories or in-depth features on science, technology, and health. Sign up for a free trial of News Direct's news animations at http://newsdirect.nextanimation.com.tw/Reuters.aspx To subscribe to News Direct or for more info, please visit: http://newsdirect.nextanimation.com.tw/Index.aspx