ComEd, EPRI Collaborate on Sustainable Electric Technology to Help Grow Healthy Food Year-Round
13 Dezembro 2023 - 1:00PM
Business Wire
Installation of four climate-controlled,
modified shipping containers help bring locally sourced produce to
neighborhoods, support education opportunities in agriculture
To help bring more locally sourced produce into communities,
while supporting education opportunities in agriculture, ComEd is
collaborating with EPRI, an independent, nonprofit energy R&D
institute, to install four agricultural pods (ag pods) across
northern Illinois.
An ag pod is a controlled environment agriculture (CEA) farm
made from a custom shipping container equipped with LED lighting, a
high-efficiency HVAC system, recirculating water pumps, a
dehumidification system, and sensors. Indoor agriculture facilities
like these allow for the year-round local production of a wide
variety of crops regardless of outdoor conditions. The container
uses electric technologies to create a microclimate that optimizes
plant production and helps meet other community energy, water, and
sustainability goals.
“ComEd is proud to collaborate on this exciting project that
will help sustainably increase access to healthy food in our
communities and provide agricultural learning opportunities using
this innovative farming method,” said Gil C. Quiniones,
CEO of ComEd. “By helping the agriculture industry understand
how lighting, water use and other systems impact plant production,
we can help expand food resource options for disadvantaged
communities across the areas we serve.”
Each ag pod, which was fully installed and activated in early
December, will be managed by a local organization that will receive
training from ComEd, EPRI, and the farm’s manufacturer before
becoming farm managers to the pod. Locations of each pod, and their
supporting organizations are:
- 4927 S. Indiana Ave. in Chicago’s Bronzeville neighborhood,
managed by the Emerald South Economic Development
Collaborative
- 5812 S. Green St. in Chicago’s Englewood neighborhood managed
by Grow Greater Englewood
- Northern Illinois University Anderson Hall, 1425 W. Lincoln
Hwy, Dekalb, Ill., managed by Northern Illinois University’s Edible
Campus program
- 1443 S. Harding Ave. in Chicago’s North Lawndale neighborhood,
managed by the Young Mens Educational Network (YMEN)
“Indoor agriculture is a rapidly emerging industry across the
United States. We’re seeing innovative designs, technologies, and
energy applications that not only help achieve year-round crop
cultivation but also contribute to the community,” said Arshad
Mansoor, president and CEO, EPRI. “EPRI is excited to include
ComEd as part of this larger collaborative project and explore
potential opportunities from this CEA farm to benefit the northern
Illinois community.”
Each farm has an embedded system that allows farmers to remotely
control the lighting, temperature and watering conditions to create
the ideal setting needed for produce to thrive. To evaluate each
farm’s operation, EPRI and ComEd installed a custom monitoring and
verification (M&V) system to continuously gather real-time data
on growing conditions.
“A primary tenet of Emerald South's work is the stewardship of
the vacant land in our communities,” said Ghian Foreman,
President and CEO of Emerald South Economic Development
Collaborative. “With this ag pod at the closed Overton school,
we look forward to supporting the food accessibility of our
residents by partnering with the community to promote land care and
environmental sustainability.”
“We're excited to use these emerging technologies to expand
education around the power of local food systems and to support
community-based farms in growing fresh, healthy food for residents
year round,” said Anton Seals, Lead Steward of Grow
Greater Englewood. “We hope to see this type of investment and
innovation around urban agriculture continue.”
“Northern Illinois University is excited to be a part of this
amazing opportunity to partner with ComEd and EPRI on the
installation of our ag pod grow container,” said Bryan
Flower, assistant director of food systems innovation at
NIU. “The amazing educational and research opportunities this
unit will afford us are boundless. It also will be a truly special
addition to our growing Edible Campus program, which already
includes nearly 100 garden beds across campus, plus a one-third
acre market garden.”
“This ag pod is going to be such an incredible asset to the
North Lawndale community as we seek to help neighbors access highly
nutritious, locally grown fresh fruits and vegetables. With only
one viable grocery store to serve 35,000 neighbors, ComEd and EPRI
are making an investment to enrich the lives of thousands of people
in our community,” said Mike Trout, YMEN Executive
Director. “This project has brought together more than 20
neighborhood organizations all committed to the same vision of
healthy lives and healthy families. This ag pod is more than a
growing container, it is a tool for the safety, wellbeing, and
flourishing of our 35,000 neighbors. YMEN is thrilled to be
entrusted with the stewardship of such a gift to North Lawndale.
Let all of Chicago know that… something good is growin’ in the
hood!”
ComEd is one of 16 energy companies participating in EPRI’s
national study designed to demonstrate and better understand
opportunities surrounding indoor food production and CEA farm
operation. Through the M&V system, EPRI researchers are able to
evaluate how energy loads, water use, and other controlled
parameters vary across different facilities and locations. Other
trackable data will help address questions regarding distribution
planning, rate design, and larger societal benefits. After about 16
months of growing, ComEd and EPRI will collect, document and
publish project data and results to share lessons learned and best
practices with other utilities and communities.
About ComEd
ComEd is a unit of Chicago-based Exelon Corporation (NASDAQ:
EXC), a Fortune 250 energy company with approximately 10 million
electricity and natural gas customers – the largest number of
customers in the U.S. ComEd powers the lives of more than 4 million
customers across northern Illinois, or 70 percent of the state’s
population. For more information visit ComEd.com and connect with
the company on Facebook, X, Instagram and YouTube.
About EPRI
Founded in 1972, EPRI is the world's preeminent independent,
non-profit energy research and development organization, with
offices around the world. EPRI's trusted experts collaborate with
more than 450 companies in 45 countries, driving innovation to
ensure the public has clean, safe, reliable, affordable, and
equitable access to electricity across the globe. Together, we are
shaping the future of energy.
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