Mass deployment of plant factories as a source of load flexibility in the grid under an energy-food nexus. A technoeconomics-based comparison

There is no clear solution for dealing with the severe consequences of rapid urbanization. Since it cannot be reverted as a phenomenon, the scientific community has decided to look for sustainable solutions within the urban environment. An Energy-Food Nexus could optimize the way cities interact with meeting energy and food demands in intense urban environments. This work proposed a decisive solution by introducing plant factories as a support to the grid and to the local leafy greens industry. The work studied how plant factories can act as a source of load flexibility via a wind energy project. Under various scenarios analysed for a specific case in Central Greece, it was revealed that possible investors in both wind energy and plant factories, in most of the cases, they will have a full repayment period of their investment in less than 8 years, while in some cases even as low as 4 years.