CEH report exposes lack of standardized energy data

Added on 27 October 2022

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CEH report exposes lack of standardized energy data

With support from PG&E, researchers reviewed literature on energy and water use in CEH and found values varied widely due to estimated models and “operational assumptions.”

The California Public Utilities Commission and utility Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) completed a report this past summer studying the published literature on energy and water resource usage in controlled environment horticulture (CEH — also called controlled environment agriculture). The objectives were to quantify resource consumption by CEH operations in the state of California and identify areas for energy savings that can be addressed in future iterations of the California Energy Code.

Project management firm 2050 Partners and HVAC and engineering consultancy Dr. Greenhouse, Inc. collaborated on the research under the sponsorship of PG&E, with oversight from PG&E’s Emerging Technology team.

With the increase in California greenhouse and indoor farming facilities designed to address food production and legalized cannabis cultivation, questions have arisen as to the practical efficiency of modern growing facilities and how to ensure that they meet benchmarks for energy and water consumption — which have yet to be outlined in policy, said Dr. Greenhouse president and founder Dr. Nadia Sabeh, a primary author on the CEH study. LEDs Magazine focused mainly on the discussion of energy with Sabeh in a recent call, during which she summarized how the research is being executed and what collaborators have learned thus far.

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