Quantcast
ZME Science
  • News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Future
  • Space
  • Features
    Menu
    Natural Sciences
    Health
    History & Humanities
    Space & Astronomy
    Technology
    Culture
    Resources
    Natural Sciences

    Physics

    • Matter and Energy
    • Quantum Mechanics
    • Thermodynamics

    Chemistry

    • Periodic Table
    • Applied Chemistry
    • Materials
    • Physical Chemistry

    Biology

    • Anatomy
    • Biochemistry
    • Ecology
    • Genetics
    • Microbiology
    • Plants and Fungi

    Geology and Paleontology

    • Planet Earth
    • Earth Dynamics
    • Rocks and Minerals
    • Volcanoes
    • Dinosaurs
    • Fossils

    Animals

    • Mammals
    • Birds
    • Fish
    • Reptiles
    • Amphibians
    • Invertebrates
    • Pets
    • Conservation
    • Animals Facts

    Climate and Weather

    • Climate Change
    • Weather and Atmosphere

    Geography

    Mathematics

    Health
    • Drugs
    • Diseases and Conditions
    • Human Body
    • Mind and Brain
    • Food and Nutrition
    • Wellness
    History & Humanities
    • Anthropology
    • Archaeology
    • Economics
    • History
    • People
    • Sociology
    Space & Astronomy
    • The Solar System
    • The Sun
    • The Moon
    • Planets
    • Asteroids, Meteors and Comets
    • Astronomy
    • Astrophysics
    • Cosmology
    • Exoplanets and Alien Life
    • Spaceflight and Exploration
    Technology
    • Computer Science & IT
    • Engineering
    • Inventions
    • Sustainability
    • Renewable Energy
    • Green Living
    Culture
    • Culture and Society
    • Bizarre Stories
    • Lifestyle
    • Art and Music
    • Gaming
    • Books
    • Movies and Shows
    Resources
    • How To
    • Science Careers
    • Metascience
    • Fringe Science
    • Science Experiments
    • School and Study
    • Natural Sciences
    • Health
    • History and Humanities
    • Space & Astronomy
    • Culture
    • Technology
    • Resources
  • Reviews
  • More
    • Agriculture
    • Anthropology
    • Biology
    • Chemistry
    • Electronics
    • Geology
    • History
    • Mathematics
    • Nanotechnology
    • Economics
    • Paleontology
    • Physics
    • Psychology
    • Robotics
  • About Us
    • About
    • The Team
    • Advertise
    • Contribute
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact
No Result
View All Result
ZME Science

No Result
View All Result
ZME Science

Home → Science → Agriculture

World’s largest indoor vertical farm is being built just 45 minutes away from Manhattan

A company called Aerofarms is trying to change the way we grow our vegetables in cities

Mihai Andrei by Mihai Andrei
May 6, 2016
in Agriculture

A company called Aerofarms is trying to change the way we grow our vegetables in cities. They are building the world’s largest indoor vertical farm, just a commute away from Manhattan, and this is just the first step, they say.

Image via Aerofarms.

The big innovation lies in what they call aeroponics. In aeroponics, the roots don’t need any soil, they simply dangle in the air (yes, plants can do that) and they are sprayed with water and nutrients.  Aeroponics possesses many characteristics that make it an effective and efficient means of growing plants, including less need for nutrients, greater control of plant growth, and a lower overall price. It’s also more space efficient than conventional farming, which is why companies like Aerofarms are developing indoor farms using aeroponics.

Image via Aerofarms.

Using a nutrient-filled mist and LED growing lamps, they will grow several varieties of salad greens, kale, and herbs throughout the entire year, without needing any sun. If everything goes according to plan, the 70,000-square-foot facility will be growing 2 million pounds of fresh produce every day. That’s a 75% higher yield than conventional farming.

Of course, there are expenses with the artificial LEDs and the facility itself, but these vertical farms will give 22 crop turns each calendar year. Also, because they take up vertical space instead of horizontal space, they are much easier to build in cities, which means reduced costs and emissions for transport, and urban citizens will be getting their vegetables much closer to the source.

But according to CEO David Rosenberg, this is just the beginning – the first step in a marathon journey.

“Our mission is to build farms in cities all over the world,” he told The Huffington Post. “We are very much building the infrastructure not to build one, two or three farms but to build 20, 30 or 50 farms.”

He added that there’s a “50 percent chance” for them to announce a new overseas project in 2016.

But not everyone is so optimistic.Stan Cox, a senior scientist at the nonprofit research group the Land Institute, offered in an essay for Alternet in February in which he writes:

Based on figures in a 2013 paper published by indoor plant-growth expert Toyoki Kozai of Japan’s Chiba University and on the assumption of efficient LED lighting, I estimate that plants like potato or tomato that produce a fleshy food product require about 1,200 kilowatt-hours of electricity for each kilogram of edible tissue they produce, not counting the water stored in the food.

That requirement approximates the annual electricity consumption of the average American home refrigerator — and that’s a big energy bill to produce just two and a quarter pounds of food dry matter. This kind of thing could not be scaled up very far.

Ultimately, we’re going to be dealing with an agricultural crisis of sorts, as the population continues to grow and shift its needs. Urban agriculture may very well play a key role in that, we just have to figure out the right way to implement it.

Was this helpful?


Thanks for your feedback!

Related posts:
  1. Japanese company starts building world’s largest vertical farm
  2. Dubai unveils the world’s largest indoor farm that will produce 2 million pounds of leafy greens yearly
  3. World’s largest floating solar farm to be built in Japan
  4. Denmark just opened a huge vertical farm, and it could be a sign of things to come globally
  5. Biggest indoor farm is 100 times more productive than conventional agriculture

ADVERTISEMENT
  • News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Future
  • Space
  • Features
  • Reviews
  • More
  • About Us

© 2007-2021 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Future
  • Space
  • Features
    • Natural Sciences
    • Health
    • History and Humanities
    • Space & Astronomy
    • Culture
    • Technology
    • Resources
  • Reviews
  • More
    • Agriculture
    • Anthropology
    • Biology
    • Chemistry
    • Electronics
    • Geology
    • History
    • Mathematics
    • Nanotechnology
    • Economics
    • Paleontology
    • Physics
    • Psychology
    • Robotics
  • About Us
    • About
    • The Team
    • Advertise
    • Contribute
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact

© 2007-2021 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.

Don’t you want to get smarter every day?

YES, sign me up!

Over 35,000 subscribers can’t be wrong. Don’t worry, we never spam. By signing up you agree to our privacy policy.

✕
ZME Science News

FREE
VIEW