Vertical farming

Growing crops indoors in stacked layers under LED lighting, with climate, water and nutrients fully controlled.

• Plants grow with roots in nutrient solution on racks many levels high, producing year-round close to cities.
• It uses up to 90–95% less water than field farming and needs little or no pesticide.
• Replacing free sunlight with electric light is the core cost: leafy greens can take roughly 10 kWh or more of electricity per kilogram.
• So farms stick to high-value greens and berries, and well-funded firms such as AeroFarms and Bowery have gone bankrupt or shut down.