Sustaining the future of indoor vertical farming with microgrids

Source: Don Wingate | PV MAGAZINE | June 16, 2020

Schneider Electric’s Don Wingate discusses how microgrids can help the indoor vertical farming movement realize its full potential.

Image: Urban Organics

While indoor agriculture has steadily gained traction in recent years as the world seeks alternative ways to feed growing populations, the uncertainty of today’s global pandemic has accelerated a rethinking of the way we obtain our food. In the last few months, modern supply chains experienced volatility like never before and it wasn’t long before we started to see the impact beyond medical gear and personal protective equipment and began to affect food production. According to the Institute of Supply Chain Management, 75% of companies reported some kind of supply chain disruption due to COVID-19.

Indoor vertical farming is emerging as an alternative to conventional farming because it both requires lower land-use and introduces the opportunity to bring agricultural production closer to consumers — shortening supply chains and increasing footprint productivity. This is especially important during times of turmoil, which is broader than the current pandemic as weather events and changing climate patterns continue to put constant strain on traditional farming practices. In addition to shortening supply chains, indoor farming has many other advantages in comparison to traditional agriculture such as using zero pesticides, employing 95% less water and reducing food waste. Health benefits also include fresher food, increased urban availability and pollution reduction.

Despite the major advantages, there is one looming barrier to mainstream adoption: the process is very energy intensive.

Solving for the energy intensity problem

Vertical farming presents a unique opportunity to grow food on already developed land and increase domestic food production, but the energy demand required to power these facilities is much higher than other methods of food production. In fact, we’ve identified indoor agriculture as one of the four major drivers that will increase electricity consumption in the next decade, along with electric vehicles, data centers and the electrification of heat. This is why more of today’s modern farming companies are turning to microgrids as a possible solution to ease their energy challenges.