At Octopus Power, we’re utilizing know-how to develop new methods to energy among the most sustainable, revolutionary companies with 100% inexperienced power. Certainly one of our tariffs, Vertical Energy, is specifically designed to energy Vertical Farms, however what precisely are these farms, and why are they so necessary?
Vertical farming is our ticket to fixing among the largest points dealing with meals provide and farming at present. It permits crops to thrive regionally, no matter the climate; making higher use of our restricted area and water, and decreasing CO2 emissions brought on by transporting meals around the globe.
So… what truly is vertical farming?
Vertical farming is the method of rising crops indoors in a high-tech managed atmosphere utilizing LED gentle. It is referred to as ‘Vertical’ as a result of the crops are grown on cabinets in water (Hydroponics), air (Aeroponics) or soil, on minimal flooring area, enabling these warehouse-type buildings to ‘crop’ up anyplace – together with city areas the place meals demand is highest.
This intelligent know-how will increase crop yields by rising crops of their favorite circumstances all 12 months spherical; controlling the temperature, gentle ranges and humidity relying on the expansion stage and/or crop kind. Lights could be on for 20 hours a day, growing the expansion charges – some crops can develop in simply 15 days!
The flexibility to extend crop yield is changing into extra very important because the Meals and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) estimates that meals manufacturing should improve by 70% by 2050 to feed the rising inhabitants.
Why is vertical farming so crucial for a extra sustainable future?
Much less uncovered to the environmental results of local weather change
In a vicious cycle, whereas farming is driving local weather change, local weather change is making conventional farming strategies more difficult than ever. Because the climate is extra unpredictable, starting from warmth waves and drought to storms and flash flooding, crop yields are below risk. On the identical time, extra land is being given to housing because the inhabitants will increase.
Unbiased of the encircling local weather, vertical farming is much less uncovered to those threats and is a extra sustainable apply. It calls for ~⅕ of the land required by conventional strategies, 70-95% much less water, 0 pesticides and 95% much less fertiliser. If provided by renewable power, it has an electrical energy carbon footprint of zero serving to the UK work in the direction of its Web Zero goal.
Rising effectivity is important to attaining sustainability. The desk under reveals an instance of vertical farming’s elevated effectivity and lowered sources requirement in comparison with different farming strategies.
| Useful resource effectivity | Vertical farming | Greenhouse farming | Outside farming |
|---|---|---|---|
| Water use effectivity | 1L/kg lettuce/12 months | 20L/kg lettuce/12 months | 250L/kg lettuce/12 months |
| Power use | 250kWh/kg/12 months | 60-180kWh/kg/12 months | 0.3kWh/kg/12 months |
| CO2 emissions | 158kg/ton of lettuce | 352kg/ton of lettuce | 540kg/ton of lettuce |
| Land use effectivity | 0.3m2 for 1kg lettuce/day | 9m2 for 1kg lettuce/day | 93m2 for 1kg lettuce/day |
| Meals miles | 43km | 800–1600km | 3200km |
| Yield | 80-120kg/m2/12 months | 41kg/m2/12 months | 3.9kg/m2/12 months |
Encourages extra locally-grown meals
Rising regionally produced meals with vertical farming will improve the UK’s meals safety and minimize our carbon emissions. At present nearly half of our meals provide is produced overseas, accounting for hundreds of thousands of tonnes of UK carbon and costing the UK billions of kilos yearly.
Cuts meals waste
Moreover, one-third of all meals produced globally is misplaced or wasted, costing the worldwide economic system £720 billion a 12 months and the UK £19 billion. Vertical farming addresses this waste by bringing manufacturing nearer to the buyer, decreasing the danger of spoilage throughout transportation.
What has Octopus Power acquired to do with vertical farming?
With regards to vertical farming, power accounts for 40-50% of manufacturing prices. Zoisa Walton (director of Octopus Power for Enterprise) and her staff have responded to this by creating our Vertical Energy tariff which allows farms to shift their power consumption to the most affordable instances of the day/evening.
Harvest London is among the vertical farms we work with to assist improve sustainable meals manufacturing. Situated in Leyton, they’re offering contemporary, reasonably priced produce not often grown within the UK akin to Thai Basil, direct to native caterers all spherical London – thus eradicating lots of of hundreds of meals miles a 12 months. They’re utilizing 100% renewable power on Octopus Vertical Energy tariff to cut back their power value and carbon emissions.
Try our Youtube video under that includes Zoisa and Chris Davies (CEO of Harvest London)!
Utilizing our Vertical Energy tariff, Harvest London creates ‘evening time’ for his or her crops when electrical energy is in excessive demand, and most costly – between 3-7pm. Enabling excessive electrical load companies to work at odd instances is important in the case of decreasing their environmental impression. It’s because it helps them run off the greenest power, and takes pressure off {the electrical} grid in the course of the busiest instances (when the UK has to name on soiled fossil gasoline mills to fulfill demand).
We assist the sustainability ambitions and manufacturing endeavours of rising initiatives like vertical farming. Know-how and inexperienced power will play a serious position in decreasing prices and serving to to unlock a brand new period of sustainable farming.
Discover out extra in our Powering the Way forward for the Meals Trade weblog.
