Topic :

Vertical farms have attracted great interest in recent years. This is not surprising, as they address many of the problems of conventional agriculture. They save land, can shorten the logistical distances of food transport and the plants grow in a controlled environment and thus do not need pesticides, are some examples. However, a clear disadvantage of vertical farms is the high electricity consumption. In this challenge, we want to find out how big the potential of vertical farms is and identify relevant criteria for the locations of such farms.

Challenge a):

Is the complete supply of a city like Bern possible through vertical farms? What are the most important restrictions for the complete supply through vertical gardening? Where is a clear advantage to conventional agriculture? Which are the advantages and disadvantages in terms of CO2 emissions, electricity and water consumption?

Challenge b):

Identify (and illustrate) ideal locations for vertical farms considering: - Local electricity costs - District heating feed-in potential - Local water price - Proximity to urban centres - Proximity to regenerative plants - Other factors?

Data:

• Food consumption by type https://opendata.swiss/de/dataset/nahrungsmittelverbrauch-nach-art-der-nahrungsmittel4
• Development of food consumption: https://opendata.swiss/de/dataset/entwicklung-des-nahrungsmittelverbrauches-in-der-schweiz-je-kopf-und-jahr4
• Freight transport Road freight transport performance by commodity group, 2019: https://www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/de/home/statistiken/mobilitaet-verkehr/gueterverkehr.assetdetail.1189-1900.html
• Electricity costs: https://www.strompreis.elcom.admin.ch/
• District heating feed-in: https://opendata.swiss/de/dataset/thermische-netze-nahwarme-fernwarme-fernkalte
• Proximity to regenerative power plants: https://www.uvek-gis.admin.ch/BFE/storymaps/EE_Elektrizitaetsproduktionsanlagen/