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.

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.

Can solar off-grid cold storage be used for small businesses?

This research presents technologies that provide solar off-grid cold storage to houses, health centers, retail shops (off-grid refrigerators), and small farms or street markets (off-grid cold rooms).

What are the challenges for solar off-grid cold storage viability in developing countries?

The challenges for solar off-grid cold storage viability in developing countries are related to technical and economic factors. People usually prefer to acquire small solar PV off-grid systems to power low-consumption appliances or devices.

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.