In addition to its overall success, the IEEE Smart Cities Conference also presented significant research on the Energy-Water-Food Nexus.
On Monday, a two-hour energy-water nexus special session was held featuring multiple aspects of LIINES research.
- The presentation entitled “Extending the Energy-Water Nexus Reference Architecture to the Sustainable Development of Agriculture, Industry & Commerce.” provided a high level overview of the types of couplings that exist not just within the energy and water infrastructure but also within end-uses in the agricultural, industrial, commercial, and residential sectors. Water and energy balance principles were used to systematically highlight the existence of trade-off decisions with the energy-water nexus.
- The presentation entitled “Extending the Utility Analysis and Integration Model at the Energy Water Nexus” featured LIINES research done in collaboration with the Water Environment Foundation (WEF). This work argued the need for integrated enterprise management systems within the water utility sector to support sustainable decision-making.
- The presentation entitled “The Role of Resource Efficient Decentralized Wastewater Treatment in Smart Cities” featured LIINES research done in collaboration with the German startup Ecoglobe. This work argued the need for resource-efficient decentralized wastewater treatment facilities as a key enabling technology in the energy-water-food nexus. It then presented Ecoglobe’s WaterbaseTM as such a technology.
On Wednesday, a three hour workshop entitled “Smart Food at the University of Guadalajara (UDG)” was lead by Diana Romero and Prof. Victor Larios. It featured the university’s efforts to bring hydroponic farming to future cities. The workshop also highlighted the UDG’s collaboration with the MIT Media Laboratory’s City Farm Initiative.
Both sessions drew participation of 40-50 conference attendees and active dialogue during the Q&A sessions. It is clear that a smart city — by all definitions — is one that actively manages the supply and demand for energy, water, and food as an integral activity. These two sessions demonstrated this need and looks to become a central theme within the IEEE Smart Cities Initiative and its flagship international conferences.
A full reference list of energy-water nexus research at the LIINES can be found on the LIINES publication page: http://engineering.dartmouth.edu/liines
LIINES Website: http://engineering.dartmouth.edu/liines
It would be nice to elaborate. But on USG’s efforts hydroponic farming to future cities.
What’s not clear how under developed and third world countries would benefit from such efforts.
I hope that this issue would be addressed in future blog posts.
Sent from my iPhone
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In my opinion, the main advantage of hydroponic farming is its ability to bring farming to the local consumer as a smart city inhabitant — where agricultural land is naturally scarce. This provides a supply chain benefit as well as a health benefit. The value for developing nations comes from population growth mega-trends. In the 21st century, mega-cities will continue to form but almost exclusively in the developing world.