A Dryden-based company focusing on locally-grown food is receiving federal funding to lower its energy consumption while increasing its production.
AgriTech North, which cultivates fresh foods through in-door soil-free produce all year round, was announced this week as a recipient of $100,000 in FedNor funding to buy and install a new solar tri-generation system. AgriTech North’s CEO Benjamin Feagin Jr. said the system produces three times as much energy from the same solar footprint by harvesting thermal energy from the sun.
“It is essentially a combination of hybrid solar panels, which are essentially solar panels with a radiator in them, and an adsorption chiller which can convert excess heat in summer to cooling,” said Feagin. “We do all this without the use of refrigerants, which is ultimately the goal to enable rural and remote communities to replicate these systems without reliance on red seal trades for maintenance, which are scarce in the North.”
Without a refrigerant-based cooling system, the new solar tri-generation system helps reduce the need to hire a skilled tradesperson for specialized maintenance and repair.
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