Power supply, control, and consumption

Electricity is a key component to keeping modern shrimp farms in operation. Without it, these farms will experience high mortality. Farmers are heavily dependent on electronic water pumps and aerator motors to provide clean water, dissolved oxygen, and water currents in the ponds. Such equipment increases the carrying capacity of seawater to host higher biomasses of shrimp. To facilitate this, farmers either purchase electricity from the government through inverters or they install fuel powered generators onsite. All farmers keep at least one spare generator on site as a backup supply during power outages. Most of the farmers have at least two generators regardless of whether they have access to local government power.  In the event of power cuts, farmers usually have an alarm system to warn them of the power outage. They then either manually start their generators or the generators start automatically to repower all electrical machines and devices on the farm. 

 While farmers have electricity meters on the farm to monitor consumption, they rarely maintain a written or digital record of their consumption rates. These meters on the farms are monitored by government officials and most farmers that we surveyed are only actually become aware of their consumption when they receive a monthly bill. 

Examples of powered devices used on farms are aerator motors, water and waste pumps, lights, alarms, feed mixers, auto-feeders,  scales, sensors, mechanical harvesting pumps, CCTV cameras, pressure cleaners, vehicles, housing, laboratory, and workshop and office equipment. A few examples can be viewed in the images below.

Below is a country comparison on the use of farm power sources, control, power warning systems and consumption monitoring

data overview

Summary

Almost all farms have access to local government power in Asian countries, though most farmers in Ecuador do not. Thus, Ecuadorian farmers rely on multiple large fuel-powered generators to supply farmers with electricity.

Farmers in Indonesia, India, and China mostly have paired fuel-powered generators while Ecuadorian, Thai and Vietnamese farmers use multiple fuel-powered generators located around the farm to power water pumps and aerator motors.

Almost no farms were seen using alternative energy sources however with the exception of some Ecuadorian shrimp farmers that were using solar powered auto-feeders and water parameter sensors.

All powered devices are manually operated. Farmers who want to operate devices remotely through digital applications would face challenges.

In case of power failures, all farms required at least one staff member to stay on the farm to monitor operations 24/7. In the event of power failures, staff powered devices are visually monitored by staff day and night or a siren alarm system alerts staff of a power failure. In each case, staff ensure that the fuel powered generators on standby are turned on and running smoothly. Staff also then need to go around the farm to inspect operating equipment or then need to manually turn each device back on.

Apart from one corporate farm in Thailand that could monitor their power consumption in real-time on a government website, most farms in Thailand and other countries have electricity meters to measure consumption, though this data is rarely inspected or recorded by farmers.

Almost no farmers actively monitor their power consumption, despite the technology being available in other industries. This is surprising as electricity costs make up between 18 and 30% of operational costs. These meters are monitored by government officials, who bill farms for their monthly consumption accordingly. 

Innovation opportunities

As farmers generally do not actively measure their electricity consumption, there is room for innovation that facilitates widespread monitoring among farmers, likely via mobile applications. Farmers would then be able to digitally track power consumption, thereby enabling them to better forecast production costs and energy requirements.  

If farmers could be better prepared for power failures, they could also reduce risks associated with power failure such as increased mortality due to the loss of aeration. 

Additionally, farmers that have the ability to remotely control and regulate the performance and power usage of individual powered devices (e.g. aerators) could properly manage optimal device performances and forecast maintenance schedules avoiding costly repairs or replacements. Through interactive and integrated switchboards and mobile applications, energy costs could be reduced by cutting idle operating of devices. 

Given that the cost of electricity in most intensive farming operation contributes a significant portion to the operational cost, there is an opportunity to reduce electricity cost by integrating alternative energy into farm power supplies and developing more energy efficient equipment. Alternative energy can also be used to power low-consumption applications such as remote sensing or automated feeding. 

Power Sources

Powered Devices

PoweR control and alarms