Seawater is piped 2 kilometres from the Spencer Gulf to Sundrop Farm – the 20-hectare site in the arid Port Augusta region. A solar-powered desalination plant removes the salt, creating enough fresh water to irrigate 180,000 tomato plants inside the greenhouse.
Scorching summer temperatures and dry conditions make the region unsuitable for conventional farming, but the greenhouse is lined with seawater-soaked cardboard to keep the plants cool enough to stay healthy. In winter, solar heating keeps the greenhouse warm.
There is no need for pesticides as seawater cleans and sterilises the air, and plants grow in coconut husks instead of soil.
The farm’s solar power is generated by 23,000 mirrors that reflect sunlight towards a 115-metre high receiver tower. On a sunny day, up to 39 megawatts of energy can be produced – enough to power the desalination plant and supply the greenhouse’s electricity needs.
Tomatoes produced by the greenhouse have already started being sold in Australian supermarkets.
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And the tomatoes will be sold at cost, without profit, because solar power is 'free'.
ReplyDelete$4,000.00 per tomato please.
What? What?
Oh wait, the sunlight is free but the equipment costs a fucking fortune.