From FoodTank:
Using a number of
innovative technologies, the Sahara Forest Project is turning deserts
into
productive agricultural land. (Carolina Arantes)
Launched in 2009 by a group of entrepreneurs in Qatar, the Sahara Forest Project
is an agriculture initiative that uses abundant desert
resources—sunlight, sand and carbon dioxide (CO2)—to produce what
deserts desperately need: a self-sufficient food production system,
water, and energy. The Sahara Forest Project aims to create
opportunities for small-scale, family farmers to grow food and produce
energy and drinking water in otherwise arid and inhospitable
conditions.
The project’s pilot facility is in Qatar, which was chosen for its
location and access to funding. The source of water for the project is a
seawater pipeline pumped from the Persian Gulf. Three key
components—saltwater-cooled greenhouses, Concentrated Solar Power (CSP),
and other technologies such as evaporative hedges—all aid in
establishing vegetation in arid conditions.
The saltwater-cooled greenhouses work similarly to a typical
greenhouse, except the seawater that is pumped in is evaporated by wind
instead of by fan. The seawater cools and humidifies the greenhouses.
CSP harvests the abundance of sunlight in the desert to produce
electricity and heat. Solar panels contain tiny mirrors that produce
heat to indirectly produce electricity via steam turbine-controlled
generators. The evaporative hedges enable revegetation by sheltering
plants that would normally not be able to grow in open, arid
environments and enabling a cooler, more humid environment. Efficiency
is key, as the project aims to solve the problem of farming in the
desert without creating more problems down the road.
The goal for each project is to become integrated with the local
economy, but each project starts as a Test and Demonstration Center
(T&DC), where the location and technologies go through a series of
field tests. The T&DC is the site of innovation for the entire
project, but also employs and educates the local community and provides
research on arid revegetation....MORE
HT:
OilPrice