Building A 2.76M Square Foot Sustainable Greenhouse In Job Starved Appalachia
Anne Field Contributor Entrepreneur
AppHarvest facility rendering | APPHARVEST
The UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change just released a report highlighting the alarming effect climate change and the rise in global temperatures are having on fertile soil—and on the world's ability to produce enough food to feed the planet's growing population. There’s also an increasing depletion of the global water supply.
Jonathan Webb, founder of two-year-old startup AppHarvest, thinks his company can help address those urgent crises. Specifically, he plans to produce more food with less water using massive controlled-environment, sustainable greenhouses. In the process, Webb, a native of Kentucky who also worked in renewable energy, also hopes to help revive the struggling Appalachian economy.
“There are technical solutions to many of these problems,” says Webb. “But much of it is a matter of execution at scale and at a rapid pace.”
His plan: build a 2.76 million-square-foot controlled-environment agricultural facility on 60-acres in Morehead, Kentucky, using hydroponic growing techniques, which rely on a nutrient solution, instead of the usual soil. As a result, according to Webb, it will be able to grow pesticide-free tomatoes and cucumbers year-round using 90% less water than traditional farming—and do so in the middle of coal country. Water will come from rainwater kept in a retention pool and there will be circular irrigation systems. The whole project takes its inspiration from the Netherlands, which is a top exporter of tomatoes, potatoes and onions, among other food, thanks to its pioneering work in climate-controlled agriculture.
The facility is also in a strategically-situated location that’s within a day’s drive of 70% of the U.S. population, according to the company. That should slash the amount of gas used in transportation compared to imports trucked across the country to the East Coast, while supplying markets with fresher produce. The company is working with distribution partner Mastronardi Produce.
In job-starved Appalachia, where one in four residents live in poverty, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, the facility also could provide a boost to the economy. While AppHarvest is buying components from the Netherlands, Webb estimates that the project will create 285 full-time positions, plus 100 construction jobs. The company will also work with local universities to add job training classes.
Webb recently closed an $82 million all-cash deal with Equilibrium Capital to build its greenhouse. Plus, it raised more money in a Series A round led by Value Act Spring Fund and joined by existing investor Revolution’s Rise of the Rest Seed Fund.
The mega-greenhouse is projected to be up and running by mid-2020. As for building similar facilities in other parts of the country, Webb says he wants to see that happen, but by different parties. “We’re in Appalachia,” he says. “But I hope other people will be building throughout the country.”
I'm an award-winning journalist with a particular interest in for-profit social enterprise, as well as entrepreneurship and small business in general. I've covered those areas for many many places, including The New York Times, Bloomberg Businessweek, Crain's New York Business, Inc. and Business Insider. As an entrepreneurial journalist--ie, a freelancer--I work from my home office in Pelham, NY.