Agrotunnel Agrivoltaics Hybrid for Sustainable Food
Partners: Food Security Structures Canada (FSSC), Green Magic Homes, Adragone Aeroponics, Vertical Green, SolarCities
The purpose of this project is to develop and demonstrate an integrated, solar-powered agrivoltaic-agrotunnel hybrid system that provides zero carbon and zero waste sustainable nutritious food all year, anywhere in Canada. This interdisciplinary (engineering, science and business) project will complement technical advancement along with economic and life cycle environmental analysis.
Researcher Biography
Joshua M. Pearce is the John M. Thompson Chair in Information Technology and Innovation at the Thompson Centre for Engineering Leadership & Innovation. He holds appointments at Ivey Business School and the Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering at Western University in Canada. He runs the Free Appropriate Sustainability Technology research group. His research concentrates on the use of open source appropriate technology (OSAT) to find collaborative solutions to problems in sustainability and to reduce poverty. His research spans areas of engineering of solar photovoltaic technology, open hardware, and distributed recycling and additive manufacturing (DRAM) using RepRap 3-D printing, but also includes policy and economics. His research is regularly covered by the international and national press. According to Elsevier’s citation metrics last year he was in the top 0.06% most cited scientists globally and is continually ranked in the top 0.1% for his accessible research on Academia.edu. He is the editor-in-chief of HardwareX, the first journal dedicated to open source scientific hardware and the author of the Open-Source Lab:How to Build Your Own Hardware and Reduce Research Costs, Create, Share, and Save Money Using Open-Source Projects, and To Catch the Sun, an open source book of inspiring stories of communities coming together to harness their own solar energy, and how you can do it too!
