5/6/24, 9:18 AM Power Supply, Control and Consumption — HATCH global shrimp report

START ABOUT 10 FARM TECH CATEGORIES TECH INPUT SUPPLY CHAIN

PRODUCTION & TECH ADVANCEMENTS FARM CHALLENGES & FARMER WISH LIST

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

https://www.shrimpfarm.tech/power-supply-control-and-consumption 1/6
5/6/24, 9:18 AM Power Supply, Control and Consumption — HATCH global shrimp report

DATA OVERVIEW

www.shrimpfarm.tech
Indonesia India Ecuador Thailand Vietnam China
by HATCH

Power supply source Government Government Multiple Government Government Government

Government, & paired & paired Generators & multiple & paired & paired

generators, solar or generator generator & solar generators generator generator

wind power

Onsite generator size 20 to 650 60 to 125 100 to 200 5 to 250 5 to 250 25 to 450

KWA

Operational control Manual Manual Manual Manual Manual Manual

Manual or automatic

Warning systems Staff- Staff- Sound Sound Sound Sound

Staff-monitored, sound monitored monitored & Alarm alarm & alarm & alarm &

alarm, government or sound government government government government

notification or digital alarm notifications notifications notifications notifications

alert systems

Consumption Passive Passive TBC Passive Passive Passive

monitoring

Active, passive or

online

Consumption data Uncommon Uncommon TBC Uncommon Uncommon Uncommon

captured & manual & manual & manual & manual & manual

Common, uncommon

& manual or digital

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
https://www.shrimpfarm.tech/power-supply-control-and-consumption 2/6
5/6/24, 9:18 AM Power Supply, Control and Consumption — HATCH global shrimp report

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

https://www.shrimpfarm.tech/power-supply-control-and-consumption 3/6
5/6/24, 9:18 AM Power Supply, Control and Consumption — HATCH global shrimp report

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

Power supply from … Diesel powered ge… Diesel supply for a … Solar panel used to…

Transformer used i… Diesel powered ge…

POWERED DEVICES

Office and labrator… Aquifer water pum… Solar powered aut… Electrical supply an…

https://www.shrimpfarm.tech/power-supply-control-and-consumption 4/6
5/6/24, 9:18 AM Power Supply, Control and Consumption — HATCH global shrimp report

Mechanical mixer f… Lights and autofee… Long arm aerator in…

POWER CONTROL AND ALARMS

Aerator control unit… Power consumptio… Surveillance tower i… Auto-feeder control…

Light and aerator c… Aerator, lights, wat… Aerator control box… Aerator control box…

Siren used as an al… Aerator and pump … Aerator control box…

Copyright 2019 by HATCH Accelerator Holding Ltd.

Terms and Conditions

https://www.shrimpfarm.tech/power-supply-control-and-consumption 5/6
5/6/24, 9:18 AM Power Supply, Control and Consumption — HATCH global shrimp report

HATCH Accelerator Holding Ltd.

Liberty Road 7/8
Cork, Ireland

https://www.shrimpfarm.tech/power-supply-control-and-consumption 6/6