Mari’s Gardens in Hawaii is working with a Japanese company to produce aquaponics plant and fish growing systems in a standard shipping container.
As a result of the Energy Alliance Group’s (EAG) participation in the Pacific Agriculture Innovation Summit and Conference in Honolulu, HI this past September, EAG has two new opportunities for use of its TotalGrow lighting system.
Here’s a photo of the interior of the shipping container aquaponics growing system. EAG will supply some of its TotalGrow lighting for this project.
The TotalGrow lights, combining extreme energy efficiency with advanced plant-enhancing light wavelengths, will be utilized by the University of Hawaii’s Cooperative Extension Service in a research project, and by Mari’s Gardens who will use it for developing a specialized aquaponics growing system. Aquaponics is a process that integrates fresh-water fish farming through aquaculture while growing plants via hydroponics, using the same water.
EAG’s Founder Scott Ringlein attended and presented at the two-day conference, aimed at prospecting and promoting innovative agriculture and energy solutions for worldwide populations. “There was quite a bit of interest in our TotalGrow lights and we were happy to introduce this technology at the summit. And it was really interesting for us to learn what’s going on in the areas of agriculture and energy efficiencies at the global level,” he said.
EAG was pleased to present the TotalGrow lighting systems during the September Pacific Agriculture Innovation Summit and Conference in Honolulu.
UH’s Cooperative Extension Services (operated through the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources) will use some TotalGrow lights, donated by EAG, for a research project involving the cultivation and growth of tea and papayas. “They are setting up a lab to study multiple growing conditions and will study these plants through propagation to completion,” Ringlein added.
The other project involves the development of an aquaponics grow system which will be designed to fit into a standard shipping container. A Hawaiian firm, Mari’s Gardens, specializes in aquaponics and has been hired by a Japanese company, Horimasa International Company Ltd., owner of Vegilab, to create these containers to grow fresh greens for the Asian market. Two of the growing racks inside the shipping container will be retrofitted with TotalGrow lighting technology.
Aquaponics is interesting as the fish provide nutrients that the plants need and the plant roots serve as biological filters cleaning the water to be returned to the fish. Horimasa is looking to grow primarily lettuce and other greens for the Asian market.
Unlike current grow light technologies that were developed based on human lighting needs, TotalGrow lighting technology was inspired by plant biology and how plants actually absorb and use light.
Using solid-state volumetric lighting and patented lens technology, this next generation of energy-efficient grow light technology blankets plants with a highly-uniform light in the wavelengths plants need most for quick and healthy growth. “It is the ideal solution for commercial greenhouse, plant factories and hydroponic facilities globally,” Ringlein said.
The Energy Alliance Group of North America, with offices in Ann Arbor and Grand Rapids Michigan, is an energy solutions company dedicated to reducing costs and improving profits through green technologies and services. To learn more about the company, click here. To learn more about EAG’s grow light technology, visit EAG’s TotalGrow page.
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