Building-based Vertical Farms
Vertical farm of RusEco in Moscow.[20] Abandoned buildings are often reused for vertical farming, such as a farm at Chicago called “The Plant,” which was transformed from an old meatpacking plant.[21] However, new builds are sometimes also constructed to house vertical farming systems. For example, a company named “Vertical Harvest” built a three-story hydroponic greenhouse next to a parking lot in Jackson, Wyoming, and aims to grow 100,000 lbs of produce annually.[22]
Shipping-container Vertical Farms
Recycled shipping containers are an increasingly popular option for housing vertical farming systems.[1] The shipping containers serve as standardized, modular chambers for growing a variety of plants,[1] and are often equipped with LED lighting, vertically stacked hydroponics, smart climate controls, and monitoring systems.[1] Moreover, by stacking the shipping containers, farms can save space even further and achieve higher yield per square foot. Currently, there are many commercial shipping-container vertical-farming units on the market, such as the “Greenery” from Freight Farms[23] and the “TerraFarm” from Local Roots.[24]
Deep Farms
A “deep farm” is a vertical farm built from refurbished underground tunnels or abandoned mine shafts.[25] As temperature and humidity underground are generally temperate and constant, deep farms require less energy for heating.[25] Deep farms can also use nearby groundwater to reduce the cost of water supply.[25] Despite low costs, a deep farm can produce 7 to 9 times more food than a conventional farm above ground on the same area of land,[25] according to Saffa Riffat, chair in Sustainable Energy at the University of Nottingham.[26] Coupled with automated harvesting systems, these underground farms can be fully self-sufficient.[10]
A company named “Growing Underground” claims to have built the world’s first underground farm,[27] and is growing greens in a refurbished World War II bomb shelter 33 meters under Clapham, London.[28] Their products are available in local supermarkets such as Whole Foods, Planet Organic, and M&S.[27]