Abstract—Given the growing demand for food, limited
natural resources, shrinking arable land, and rising energy costs,
sustainable agricultural solutions are urgently needed. The
Water-Energy-Food-Ecosystems (WEFE) Nexus provides an
integrated framework for addressing these interconnected
challenges by promoting synergies and minimizing trade-offs
among sectors. This paper presents a community-led, solarpowered
hydroponic system implemented in Wadi Al Wala,
Jordan, as a practical and scalable example of the WEFE Nexus
in action. The system was evaluated against soil-based
agriculture across three cultivation cycles, focusing on water use,
crop yield, land efficiency, and environmental performance. The
ecological assessment used carbon dioxide emissions (kg CO₂
equivalent) as a key indicator to evaluate the system's
sustainability. Findings showed that the hydroponic system
reduced water consumption by 24.8–37.9% and boosted crop
yields by 30.4–106.6% compared to traditional agriculture.
Furthermore, solar-powered hydroponics significantly lowered
carbon emissions by 66.7 kg and 13.2 kg CO₂ eq. and presented
a benefit/cost ratio of 6.3 and 1.7 compared to diesel-powered
and grid-powered hydroponic systems, respectively. The
performance metrics and cost-benefit indicators observed over
the three cultivation cycles validate the environmental and
resource-efficiency benefits of integrating renewable energy into
innovative agricultural practices. Four hydroponic upscaling
scenarios were developed using the REWEFE decision-support
tool, demonstrating that hydroponic greenhouses are practical
WEFE Nexus models that conserve resources, enhance
productivity, and support environmental sustainability.
However, a rebound effect was observed in the form of increased
energy demand, underscoring the need for further expansion of
solar energy integration to ensure long-term resilience and
sustainability.
Keywords—WEFE Nexus, hydroponics, sustainability,
resources management, traditional framing, Photovoltaic (PV)
powered systems
Cite: Arwa Abdelhay, Serena Sandri, Munjed Al Sharif, Nooh Alshyab, Luay Jum'a, Ismail Abushaikha, "From Concept to Practice: Operationalizing the WEFE Nexus through a Low-Cost Solar-Powered Hydroponic System," International Journal of Environmental Science and Development vol. 17, no. 1, pp. 28-38, 2026.
Copyright © 2026 by the authors. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited (CC BY 4.0).