Largest Indoor Farm

GE Japan to Make His Dream of a Water, Space and Energy Efficient Indoor Farming System a Reality

A former Sony Corporation semiconductor factory in Japan has beenconverted intothe world's largest indoor farm. Japanese plant physiologist Shigeharu Shimamura,CEO of Mirai Co., partnered withGE Japanto make his dream of a water, space and energy efficient indoor farming system a reality. Despite having only started production a year ago, the farm is already shipping out 10,000 heads of lettuce per day.

The farm is located in Miyagi Prefecture in eastern Japan, the area that was badly hit by apowerful earthquake and tsunamiin 2011. At 25,000 square feet, it is nearly half the size of a football field, and 17,500 LED lights spread over 18 cultivation racks reaching 15 levels high are a key to the farm's success. The LEDs were developed for the project by GE and emit light atwavelengths optimal for plant growth, allowing Shimamura to control the night-and-day cycle and accelerate production.

Bycontrolling temperature, humidity and irrigation, the farm can also cut its water usage to just one percent of the amount needed by conventional outdoor farming. "What we need to do is not just setting up more days and nights. We want to achieve the best combination of photosynthesis during the day and breathing at night by controlling the lighting and the environment," says Shimamura. The systems allows the farm to grow nutrient-rich lettuce two-and-a-half timesfaster than an outdoor farm. Wasted produce is alsoreduced from around 50 percentdown to just 10 percent of the crop. This means a 100-fold increase in productivity per square foot. The LEDs also last longer than fluorescent lights and consume 40 percent less power.

Source: Inhabitat

Read More Related Content On This Topic - Click Here

Media

Taxonomy

• Agriculture
• Agribusiness