Mass deployment of plant factories as a source of load flexibility in the grid under an energy-food nexus. A technoeconomics-based comparison
George Xydis, David Strasszer, Dafni Despoina Avgoustaki, Evanthia A. Nanaki
Abstract
There is no clear solution for dealing with the severe consequences of rapid urbanization. Since it cannot be reverted as a phenomenon, the scientific community has decided to look for sustainable solutions within the urban environment. An Energy-Food Nexus could optimize the way cities interact with meeting energy and food demands in intense urban environments. This work proposed a decisive solution by introducing plant factories as a support to the grid and to the local leafy greens industry. The work studied how plant factories can act as a source of load flexibility via a wind energy project. Under various scenarios analysed for a specific case in Central Greece, it was revealed that possible investors in both wind energy and plant factories, in most of the cases, they will have a full repayment period of their investment in less than 8 years, while in some cases even as low as 4 years.