Is solar-powered cold storage a viable alternative to conventional cold storage?

Solar-powered cold storage (SCS) is the potential alternative to conventional cold storage systems for F&V preservation, especially in hot and sunny climates. SCSs are energy-efficient, cost-effective, environment-friendly, and highly rural applicable technology, offering a sustainable approach to reduce F&V losses.

What is solar cold storage?

Solar cold storage usually relies on continuous energy input or battery-based backup systems to supply constant energy for night-time and cloudy weather conditions . Solar intermittency and variability have increased the demand for adequate energy storage.

Why is the power supply in the Solomon Islands so volatile?

Currently, most of the power in the Solomon Islands is dependent on diesel generated power which uses imported fuel. This volatile energy supply structure is susceptible to soaring fuel prices, and the people want it to be rectified as soon as possible.

How to adopt solar cold storage systems?

Higher initial cost is the primary barrier to the adoption of solar cold storage systems. It can be adopted by the initiation of government incentive policy to promote and adopt the SCSSs. Forming farmer-producer organizations and social groups can reduce the per-person cost of purchasing SCSSs.

What goods are stored in a solar-powered freezer?

Each zone operating a solar-powered freezer stored a variety of goods (Fig. 7 ), including different types of aquatic foods such as fish, invertebrates, shells and turtle. A total of 39 000 kg of fish was stored in the freezers, representing 32% of all the goods stored across the zones.

Why is solar based cold storage system intervention important?

Solar-based sustainable cold storage system intervention can reduce the environmental impact and energy consumption issues raised due to the demand for cold storage systems . It may also play a vital role in addressing the issue of post-harvest losses at production sites to preserve food security.