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A blueprint for sustainable, urban food production powered by local waste heat 

Mapping; feasibility study

Client: The Institute of Sustainable Food at the University of Sheffield

The Brief

District Eating was commissioned to map the land owned by Sheffield City Council and the University of Sheffield to identify the best potential sites – buildings and land – for a range of cropping options.  

This project matched potential horticultural sites with Sheffield’s biggest producers of waste energy such as the heat network, industrial sources and data centres. 

District Eating’s concept is an all-encompassing and integrated, holistic solution. This involved creating an urban farming programme using a range of methods to assess the suitability of each site, considering hydroponics and vertical farming, with opportunities for both commercial and community growers. It also explored the viability of involvement from local colleges for training in food production. 

  • For each identified site District Eating completed a cost benefit analysis for both the grower and the waste heat or carbon dioxide producer was completed. This enabled us to calculate a mutually beneficial heat and carbon dioxide price, where applicable, 
  • We generated outline business cases looking at a range of innovative and traditional farm options including large-scale commercial horticulture; smaller high-tech vertical farming; and low-cost, low-tech opportunities using polytunnels. These business cases can be adapted for a range of cropping options, 
  • We designed an innovative and bespoke financial techno–economic model, whereby we can ‘plug in’ land availability, heat and power availability to calculate capital and operating costs,, revenue Net Present Value, Internal Rate of Return and simple payback periods for growers and waste heat producers. 

Areas

District Heating

Key Stakeholders

Veolia Environmental Services Sheffield   

Sheffield City Council 

The Sheffield City Region 

Major industrial waste heat producers 

Commercial horticultural growers 

The Sheffield College

Key social enterprises for food and wellbeing 

Opportunites

  • Identified over 40 sites of 0.4 to 2 hectares for horticulture using heat from Sheffield’s district heating network and other major industrial waste heat producers, 
  • Produced outline business cases (OBCs) for the top three sites in Sheffield, 
  • Secured buy in from regional stakeholders including Sheffield City Council, Sheffield City Region and Veolia Environmental Services, 
  • Identified significant sources of industrial waste heat and carbon dioxide in the city, 
  • Secured buy in from four key waste heat/ carbon dioxide producers in the city, who are now actively cooperating with the project. 

Challenges

District Eating’s innovative approach to the project addressed major cross-sector challenges including how to: 

  • Harness waste emissions from heat producers and look at the potential for vital new revenue streams, 
  • Assess the viability of carbon dioxide use in different contexts and at different scales, 
  • Create new sustainable, local food networks in urban areas, 
  • Address socio-economic issues around community wellbeing and employment and, 
  • The potential to de-centralise UK food networks and reduce the country’s reliance on international food imports. 

Outcomes

From this project District Eating:  

  • Identified 40 commercial and community horticultural sites of 0.4 to 2 hectares with a range of cropping options. 
  • Secured buy in from regional stakeholders including the Sheffield City Council, Sheffield City Region and Veolia Environmental Services. We also secured buy in from four of the region’s major waste heat producers. The involvement of public and private stakeholders is key to the viability of this project. 

Share:

The mapping study laid the foundation with a proof of concept for farm sites across the Sheffield City Region. District Eating are currently developing detailed business cases and developing relationships with investors to facilitate funding and construction of a pilot greenhouse in the City. 

We are carefully monitoring changes in food supply chains associated with the Covid-19 epidemic to identify opportunities for the roll out of the project in other cities and regions across the UK. There is a significant opportunity to create jobs, stimulate local economic growth, reduce food miles pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, and improve community cohesion through localized working and food system development at a time when new, economically viable and more sustainable approaches are needed for the environment and UK food production alike. 

Source: UK Government, Horticulture Statistics 2018 –  https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/876670/hort-report-30mar20.pdf 

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