NutraPonics, the Alberta-based aquaponics company, has posed the possibility of bringing aquaculture and hydroponics to the Arctic.
Company owner Tanner Stewart has theorized that the aquaponics pods produced by NutraPonics could be used by Arctic communities to enhance food supply. The largest obstacle to this, however, lies in the cost of energy, Stewart said during the Arctic Innovations conference hosted at Yukon College this past week.
"[Energy cost] is a special challenge here in the North which I'm learning," Stewart said to CBC News. "We can fix those cost issues with energy. We've made tremendous strides in solar power and wind technology. There's geothermal up here, there is great hydro electricity."
Sufficient energy stores would be needed to heat the units, which could house fish like tilapia that require water temperatures to be above 21 degrees Celcius to survive.
