Local renewable energy resources could provide expansive economic opportunities for Small Town and Rural (STAR) agricultural communities. To encourage a resilient Food, Energy, and Water future, FEWtures seeks to identify and analyze opportunities advantageous to agricultural systems. Renewable energy production changes over time. Wind and solar energy depend on the wind blowing and the sun shining; the resulting variations in energy production are challenging. Agriculturally beneficial energy uses that are flexible enough to be coordinated with this variability could reduce costs and provide new business opportunities for rural areas. Two flexible energy demands are being evaluated by the FEWtures project: water treatment and ammonia production. Poor quality water to be treated may come, for example, from saline aquifers or water produced in oil and gas development. Ammonia can be used as a fertilizer and to store energy as a fuel.

Resource Use
License
CC-BY 4.0
Recommended Citation
Hill MC. 2023. Low Carbon Opportunities for Arid Agricultural Areas Impacted by Climate Change: The Case of FEWtures in the Central Arkansas River basin (CARB). University of Idaho. https://doi.org/10.7923/E1WA-RQ11

Funding
National Science Foundation, EngageINFEWS Research Coordination Network: 1856084
National Science Foundation, EngageINFEWS Research Coordination Network: 1856059