Major steps towards better, sustainable and affordable food production free of environmental challenges have been taken, with the "world's first farm to grow indoor, vertically farmed berries at scale" opening in Richmond, VA. It's backed by an international team of scientists that see this new…
I wonder how much more energy it uses, and what the efficiency of land is versus a fruit wall model.
It has been years since I last looked into this so things may have changed.
Basically, the lights are LEDs so the power draw is fairly low. Between not using pesticides and having more control over growing conditions, vertical farms get higher yields and are of higher quality.
The problem is water. Most corporate farms just buy the water. I’ve seen some at home or small scale setups that use water from tilapia tanks, which also has the benefit of having fertilizer.
Sourcing graywater is much easier in the big picture than literally duplicating the power of the sun.
The eROI on electric-lit farms is by definition well below 1.
Basic intro:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISAKc9gpGjw
https://globalecoguy.org/no-vertical-farms-wont-feed-the-world-5313e3e961c0