July 15, 2013

OriginOil to restore US aquaculture farms

As part of its strategy to acquire and restart shuttered fish farms in the Coachella Valley region of Southern California, New Global Energy will implement OriginOil's water sanitising and algae production technology.

"Following OriginOil's field demonstration earlier this month, we have concluded that this technology is a strategic asset in our drive to restart the California aquaculture industry," said Perry West, Chairman of New Global Energy. "We believe that this technology, combined with solar panels for energy and algae for fish feed, may give us the competitive advantage to produce highly profitable, highly nutritional California seafood."

New Global Energy's decision came on the heels of a highly successful demonstration at Aqua Farming Technology a leader in sustainable fish farming since 1993. The field test demonstrated OriginOil's Electro Water Separation (EWS) process can eliminate virtually all ammonia and bacterial infestations in fish pond water, and produce a stream of nitrogen-rich water to feed algae.

At the demonstration of OriginOil's system, Rocky French, veteran farm manager and aquaculture industry expert, said, "You're looking at the future of aquaculture. I wish we had started with this technology in the seventies. With this system, farmers like me can lower their operating costs and easily produce algae pellets, which make healthier fish at much lower cost."

By adopting EWS to sanitise water in a continuous loop process, farms can free up valuable land lost to filtration ponds, and reduce or eliminate expensive chemicals and antibiotics. The system also allows fish farmers to quickly harvest algae and pelletise it for highly nutritious and cost-effective fish feed.

Following a wave of farm closures in 2007 and 2008 due to high energy and feed costs, new solutions for improving energy efficiency and the overall health of the ecosystem are essential to the future of California's aquaculture industry. New Global Energy plans to replicate the Aqua Farming Tech model to revitalise these defunct Coachella Valley fish farms with sustainable technologies, including renewable energy, and algae harvested using OriginOil's technology. The end goal is to reduce feed and electricity costs, while also dramatically improving the nutritional value and taste of farmed fish.

OriginOil's EWS will support Aqua Farming Tech's innovative farming practices, which span two sites across 120 acres in the Coachella Valley. The company was the first to generate a significant portion of its farm's power needs from solar energy and the first to implement a water recycling system to reduce fresh water consumption.

An Earth Island Institute report recently noted that world farmed fish production topped beef production in 2011 for the first time in human history. The gap widened in 2012, with output from fish farming-also called aquaculture-reaching a record 66 million tonnes, compared with production of beef at 63 million tonnes. This may be the first year on record that people eat more fish raised on farms than caught in the wild.