The winners of two energy efficiency awards

Vertical farming is the practice of growing crops indoors under fully controlled conditions using LED lights. The 'vertical' aspect involves stacking the crops on top of each other in layers, and are either grown in soil or without, via hydroponic (water) or aeroponic (mist) technology. As the plants are cultivated on minimal floor space, vertical farms are able to crop up anywhere, including cities and urban areas, where food demand is the highest. This type of CEA (controlled environment agriculture) can even yield twenty times more lettuce than agricultural fields. Additionally, the LED lights can be on for up to 20 hours a day, increasing the growth rates, with some crops spending only 4 days on beds. This is significant as the ability to increase crop yield is becoming more vital to global food security - the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) estimates that food production needs to increase by 70% by 2050 to feed the growing global population.

Energy is a pressing topic at the moment in the UK, with rising prices and other market forces putting pressure on our energy systems. When it comes to energy use in vertical farming, energy consumption can account for between 40-50% of production costs and lighting costs alone can account for 25-30% of the operational costs. Vertical farming is undoubtedly an energy-intensive process, however vertical farms are steady and predictable energy users that have been proven to integrate well with renewable energy production. If supplied by renewable energy, vertical farming can have a carbon footprint of zero, which will help the UK work towards its goal of net zero by 2050.

Our two research and development vertical farms, based in Bristol, are both powered by Octopus Energy's 100% renewable energy. We have also teamed up with Octopus Energy to integrate our very own farming management software platform Ostara with their Agile Octopus smart tariff, which received recognition at the Global Vertical Farming Awards and the Better Society Energy Awards this year. Ostara is a farm management toolbox which can provide agile, closed-loop control and be used to optimise plant growth.

So, by integrating an Agile Business tariff into Ostara, indoor farmers can adjust their plant's growth cycles to align with lower energy costs. For example crops are given 'down time' between 3-7pm when electricity is in high demand and most expensive. This can ultimately cut down on costs, reduce the environmental impact of vertical farms and also takes some pressure off the electrical grid at times when the UK usually has to call on fossil fuel generators to meet demand. Octopus want to expand their work in the sector and have developed a tailor made tariff specifically for vertical farms- Vertical Power.

Click here to read more on LettUsGROW.

Photo by ThisisEngineering RAEng on Unsplash

Source: LettUsGROW