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Innovative Light Measurement Solutions for Indoor Horticulture; High Precision, Handheld PAR Meters from Gamma Scientific
Innovative Light Measurement Solutions for Indoor Horticulture; High Precision, Handheld PAR Meters from Gamma Scientific
San Diego, CA – Commercial success in indoor horticultural operations requires intricate knowledge and carefully managed growing conditions. Among them, a detailed understanding of your lighting parameters is key; including efficiency, spectral properties, aging affects, fixture spacing and optimal working distances.
The PG100N provides a robust and reliable solution for light measurement with fully NIST-traceable performance. Through an integrated, high-resolution color display, PPFD values can be viewed over the PAR range, or within specific wavelength bands from the UVA to the Near-Infrared. In addition to internal data logging, downloads via SD card, USB port or Wi-Fi mode allow data tracking and analysis over time, and downloads in Excel and JPG formats are standard.
The detector head can be removed for optimal positioning, and operating time is up to 5 hours on a full battery charge. Units are in stock in our warehouse and available for rapid delivery.
For over 50 years, Gamma Scientific has delivered highly unique, state-of-the-art measurement solutions for manufacturers and users of light sources, sensors, and displays. Products include high precision spectroradiometers, calibration light sources, goniophotometers, integrating spheres, thin film measurement systems, and LED testers and sorters. The company also operates an ISO 17025, NVLAP accredited laboratory (NVLAP Laboratory code 200823-0) for calibration and testing.
Indoor Farms of America Brings World's First Solar-Powered Vertical Aeroponic Farm, Announces More International Sales
Indoor Farms of America Brings World's First Solar-Powered Vertical Aeroponic Farm, Announces More International Sales
NEWS PROVIDED BY Indoor Farms of America
LAS VEGAS, Nov. 20, 2017, / PRNewswire
Indoor Farms of America announces the first fully operating, 100% solar powered vertical aeroponic indoor farm in the world.
"This farm represents a major milestone for indoor farming. Everyone in the industry knows that the additional investment of solar energy generation to power an indoor farm can turn a solid return on that investment into a long-term money loser, due to the length of time to recapture those extra investment dollars," states David Martin, CEO of Indoor Farms of America.
World's First Solar Power Installation for a Vertical Aeroponic Farm
"Using solar technology to power up our vertical aeroponics, which grows fresh crops that are simply beyond organic, is really a great story, if the economics work," says Martin. "Our equipment was specifically designed to create that tangible R.O.I., which is the only yardstick that frankly matters in an indoor space, and furthers how we transcend anything else in the industry."
nside the world's first solar powered vertical aeroponic farm
In addition to being powered by solar energy, this farm is special to the company, as it represents one of numerous farms the company has built that are owned and operated by traditional agriculture folks, according to company President,Ron Evans. "When you can convert an older barn or outbuilding on a farm into a state of the art indoor farming facility, and operate that farm within a short distance to market, you are achieving the best of all worlds in farming. This farm is twenty minutes from market, so local people will have access to daily fresh herbs and greens that they have never experienced before, all year long, no matter what the weather or time of year."
The company also announces additional sales in international markets. "We are really pleased to have been chosen as the containerized farm supplier for an extreme weather area of the world, in Northern Canada, where we are delivering a Model 8775 to the town of Yellowknife," says Martin. "This farm will experience temps of minus 40 celsius, and we have spent the past year in continual R&D to ensure our turn-key farms can operate anywhere on the planet."
The area of West Africa, known as the Ivory Coast, is receiving its first world class indoor farm, in the form of a Model 6825. "Here again, we were chosen over all competitors due to the fact our containerized farm models grow over double the yield of anything else in the world," according to Martin.
The U.A.E. is receiving its first vertical aeroponic farm from IFOA, located in Dubai, which is set to open for business in January, 2018. "Dubai will now have unprecedented access to daily fresh premiums herbs, and fresh strawberries," states Martin.
"If you are in Dubai in the first week of December, be sure and stop by the WOP Dubai event and see our display," saysRon Evans. "You can also visit with us at the Farm Forum event in Calgary, Alberta Canada that same week. We are always a show stopper at the events our equipment is displayed at."
Indoor Farms of America has a showroom with demonstration farms operating in Las Vegas, Nevada and in multiple locations in Canada, and in South Africa, where their patented vertical aeroponic equipment is on display.
CONTACT:
David W. Martin, CEO • 185857@email4pr.com • IndoorFarmsAmerica.com
4000 W. Ali Baba Lane, Ste. F Las Vegas, NV 89118
(702) 664-1236 or (702) 606-2691
SOURCE Indoor Farms of America
Skywell to Design and Build Sustainable On-Campus Indoor Farms for Foxconn
Skywell to Design and Build Sustainable On-Campus Indoor Farms for Foxconn
LOS ANGELES, -- Skywell, a leading US water technology company, has been selected by Foxconn, one of the world’s largest manufacturing companies, to design and build a fully sustainable indoor vertical farm that will be integrated into the manufacturing facilities at Foxconn’s Wuhan, China Campus. The futuristic indoor farm will be entirely solar powered and its crops will be nourished exclusively by water generated by Skywell’s sustainable “air water” technology.
The new indoor farms, the latest of Foxconn’s green CSR initiatives, will produce high-quality vegetables and fruits, which will improve the variety and enhance the nutrition of employee meals provided at Foxconn’s on-campus cafeterias.
“Sustainability is a core pillar of Foxconn’s corporate strategy, and we are committed to investing in green, socially responsible innovation,” said Mark Chien, a Foxconn Senior Executive Vice President. “Because our people are the absolute foundation of our company, it is inspiring to be able to pursue a corporate initiative that will not only enhance the workplace, but also be respectful of the environment.”
According to Mr. Chien, since 2008, Foxconn has launched several green initiatives that have resulted in a significant decrease in carbon emissions and reduced water waste. By leveraging Skywell’s sustainable “air water” technology, Foxconn is hoping to enhance the working environment in its corporate facilities and showcase Skywell’s revolutionary technology and potential for the rest of the corporate world.
“Our atmospheric water generating technology shares many similarities with nature’s 'water cycle' by condensing and filtering naturally occurring and plentiful atmospheric water vapor into clean and fresh water,” said Ron Dorfman, CEO of Skywell. “Skywell 'air water' is generated with a carbon footprint much lower than alternative water sources due to the absence of pumping, plastics, packaging or shipping.”
Mr. Dorfman added that “When Foxconn became aware of our work with drinking water and indoor sustainable agriculture, Foxconn’s management immediately expressed interest in exploring various ways that our technology and know-how could be become a part of Foxconn’s CSR platform.”
“The implementation of these indoor farms continues our ongoing efforts to enhance the well-being of our employees in innovative ways,” said Mr. Chien. “We have high hopes for the scalability of the Skywell technology in connection with other socially responsible and sustainable initiatives in our facilities.”
Mr. Chien indicated that once the pilot project at the Wuhan campus is successfully operational, Foxconn will consider incorporating indoor vertical farms throughout its other Chinese and international facilities.
For media inquiries please contact Tyler Barnett PR at 323.937.1951.
Vertical Farm Under Construction At New RiNo Development
Construction is underway on the company’s first greenhouse, a 7,000-square-foot structure at the new S’park development on the corner of 25th and Lawrence streets.
Vertical Farm Under Construction At New RiNo Development
KATE TRACY NOVEMBER 16, 2017
Altius Farms will have 340 tower gardens in its greenhouse. (Altius Farms)
Sally Herbert is looking for higher ground in RiNo.
Instead of a penthouse with mountain views or a rooftop bar, the Air Force veteran and GS1 executive plans to grow lettuce. And this farm requires some vertical.
Dissatisfied with Denver’s urban agriculture and farming, Herbert founded Altius Farms with the goal of growing produce on a footprint that spreads up, not out.
Construction is underway on the company’s first greenhouse, a 7,000-square-foot structure at the new S’park development on the corner of 25th and Lawrence streets.
Herbert said the greenhouse, with 340 aeroponic garden towers, could produce 75,000 pounds of lettuce, herbs or other leafy greens annually at full capacity. Aeroponics is the process of growing plants without soil.
“We will produce over 10 times the yield of conventional farming,” she said. “We use 10 percent of the water and 10 percent of the space.”
The greenhouse is set to open in spring 2018.
Herbert said she hopes nearby restaurants will account for most of sales. The produce prices will be comparable to other locally sourced products, and Herbert thinks restaurant owners would pay more for the freshness.
“If I can deliver every day or every other day to a restaurateur, they’re really happy,” she said.
Sally Herbert in front of the under-construction S’Park development. (Kate Tracy)
Plans call for the remainder of produce to be sold through CSAs – community support agriculture – to nearby residents.
Lettuce and arugula will be the greenhouse’s main crops, but the company also plans to grow celery, edible flowers and bok choy, and can grow custom produce by request.
Unlike Infinite Harvest, another local Denver vertical farm, Altius will not use LED lighting or a shared water system.
“We’re not sharing water from tower to tower,” Herbert said, adding that will reduce the number of waterborne pathogens to the produce.
Herbert, a graduate of the University of Colorado and Colorado State University, was an executive of barcode company GS1 until four years ago, when she moved back to Colorado.
She served on the board of nonprofit Veterans to Farmers, where she first learned about vertical farm technology.
Herbert said more than $500,000 has been invested in the project, a mix of her own capital, a bank loan and money from other backers. She plans to hire six veterans to run the greenhouse.
Altius looked at two other sites, near the Stanley Marketplace and in Westminster, before settling on the property at 25th and Lawrence.
It is leasing the greenhouse, above the future site of sushi restaurant Uchi, from S’Park developer Westfield. It’s next door to 99 condos and townhomes priced between $300,000 and $900,000.
Rendering of Altius Farms, bottom left, in the under-construction S’Park development. (Altrius Farms)
About the author: Kate TracyView all posts by Kate Tracy
Kate Tracy is a BusinessDen reporter who covers nonprofits, startups and the outdoors industry. She is a graduate of Corban University. Email her at kate@BusinessDen.com.
Winter Doesn't Faze 87,000-Square-Foot Aquaponics Farm in St. Paul
Winter Doesn't Faze 87,000-Square-Foot Aquaponics Farm in St. Paul
Three-plus months after debuting in its new, vastly larger location, Urban Organics continues to expand.
By Amelia Rayno Star Tribune | NOVEMBER 22, 2017
ELIZABETH FLORES • LIZ.FLORES@STARTRIBUNE.COM
Pentair and Urban Organics are partners in this 87,000-square-foot indoor fish and produce farm in the old Schmidt brewery that provides greens and seafood for grocery stores, co-ops and restaurants.
“There’s no seasonal affective disorder in here,” said Dave Haider, who founded Urban Organics along with his wife, Kristen Koontz Haider, and with Chris Ames and Fred Haberman. “It just makes sense — not just from an environmental standpoint but also from a food safety standpoint. It’s sustainable, it’s consistent and it’s a local option.”
Three-plus months after debuting in its new, vastly larger location, Urban Organics continues to expand its operation — with the capacity to churn out 7,000 pounds of fish a week (up from a mere 100 pounds per week at its first location) along with about 10,000 pounds of produce (up from 250 pounds).
And with a warehouse full of 25,000-gallon tanks and skyward-reaching trays of lettuce, kale, Swiss chard, arugula, basil and parsley, Urban Organics — which the WateReuse Association just named 2017 agricultural project of the year, a national award — is doing so in a very green way.
Here’s how it works: The fish provide the nutrients necessary to grow the plants. The plants, in turn, act as a filter to improve the water quality for the fish. Reusing the water over and over again allows Urban Organics to use just a fraction of what conventional farming would require.
As for the finished products? The fish is mostly nabbed by restaurateurs — Fish Guys handles the distribution, to places like Birchwood Cafe and Spoon and Stable. And the greens are boxed up into nine different salad blends and sold to various grocery stores and co-ops. Even with the great increase in production, Haider said, they’re struggling to fill the overwhelming number of requests.
“We’re cautiously optimistic,” he said. “But we’ve had so much support from the local community. Right now we can’t even come close to keeping up with the demand.”
Indoor Farming Feeding Hundreds Each Day in Connecticut
November 1, 2017,
MERIDEN, Conn. (WTNH) — Indoor farming is underway in the state of Connecticut thanks to a group of young entrepreneurs.
Trifecta Ecosystems Incorporated has just fully filled out its new downtown Meriden aquaponics facility with thousands of plants growing in about 12 inches of water vertically and on a flat surface.
This historic facility is a massive former ball-bearing plant that they fully transformed.
CEO Spencer Curry says never in his wildest imagination did he expect to be in this kind of start-up business because he had been a Latin and philosophy major, but here he is and his company is thriving.
“We can feed about 300 people per week…An 11-ounce container which is like that large container at Whole Foods,” Curry stated.
“This is lettuce in a vertical grow tower,” Curry explained. “You’re actually seeing them hang vertically like that and that allows us to get more plants per square feet.”
Curry showed us other growing methods as well.
“This is actually another style of growing called deep water culture and this is the style we choose for our actual commercial farm in Meriden,” he said. “We use a high-efficiency LED grow lights from Fluence which is a company that we are working with for our commercial farm here.”
Curry said his business is mostly growing kale, lettuce, salad greens, cooking greens and herbs.
“Our model is about building our own network of farms and integrating that with both the existing farms that are out there and new farms that our clients are starting,” Curry said. “We honestly see Connecticut as primed to be a nationwide leader in indoor and controlled environment agriculture, but we also see our company as a much larger company than just the state. We want to develop our model here in Connecticut and make Connecticut really the de facto state in the nation to look toward controlled environment agriculture or CEA. We want to build the city that feeds itself and we want that to start here in Connecticut.”
Curry’s company works a lot with schools, so if you want to grow some greens vertically in your classroom, get in touch with them.
It grows right out of a fish tank, you farm fish and plants together.
You can suscribe to the greens right out of their farm in Meriden. It’s located at 290 Pratt Street.
To find out more, go to www.trifectaecosystems.com.
A Jeff Bezos-Backed Vertical Farm is Coming to the Seattle Area
Indoor farming startup Plenty is building its first full-scale farm in the Seattle area. Plenty snagged $200 million in Series B funding in July from investors including SoftBank's Vision Fund, Alphabet (Nasdaq: GOOGL) Chairman Eric Schmidt and Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN) founder and CEO Jeff Bezos' Bezos Expeditions.
A Jeff Bezos-Backed Vertical Farm is Coming to the Seattle Area
Plenty will open a 100,000-square-foot indoor farm in Kent in the first half of 2018.
By Casey Coombs – Staff Writer, Puget Sound Business Journal
Nov 3, 2017
Indoor farming startup Plenty is building its first full-scale farm in the Seattle area.
Plenty snagged $200 million in Series B funding in July from investors including SoftBank's Vision Fund, Alphabet (Nasdaq: GOOGL) Chairman Eric Schmidt and Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN) founder and CEO Jeff Bezos' Bezos Expeditions.
Expected to open in the first half of 2018 in Kent, Plenty's farm will employ a workforce of indoor farming engineers, organic growers and operations experts.
“Seattle’s emphasis on delicious, healthy food and energy and water efficiency makes the area a natural fit for our next Plenty farm,” Plenty CEO and co-founder Matt Barnard said. “At nearly 100,000 square feet, Seattle will be home to our first full scale farm and help set the standard by which our global farm network makes locally-grown, backyard-quality produce accessible to everyone. We’re excited about what’s next and look forward to building the Seattle team.”
The produce will be available to local Seattle and Vancouver BC-area consumers beginning in mid-2018.
Using LED lighting, micro-sensors and big data processing, the company's indoor farming technology aims to help solve global fresh produce shortages.
Plenty farms use one percent of the water and fraction of the land of conventional agriculture.
Plenty’s first field-scale farm is located in South San Francisco and will start delivering produce to local Bay Area customers within hours of harvest by the end of 2017.
The Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) Redmond headquarters campus features similar lettuce-growing technology:
“Seattle’s emphasis on delicious, healthy food and energy and water efficiency makes the area a natural fit for ou
Microsoft grows hydroponic lettuce in Redmond
Mark Freeman, senior manager of global dining services at Microsoft, stands with lettuce growing in a hydroponic pyramids in Building 121's Cafe 121 on Microsoft's campus in Redmond.
Indoor Farming Expert Says Korea, Japan Need To Up Investment
Indoor Farming Expert Says Korea, Japan Need To Up Investment
Nov 26, 2017
CHIBA, Japan -- To meet the pace of the aggressive growth of the indoor farming industry in China and the United States, both South Korea, and Japan should bet bigger on industry innovation, a Japanese expert said.
Toyoki Kozai, professor emeritus of Chiba University and president of the Japan Plant Factory Association, told reporters that Korea should spur efforts to invest in smart indoor farming technologies.
“Indoor horticulture farms are attracting an increasing level of investment, especially from Chinese and American firms,” Kozai said. “Such overwhelming pace of growth in funding leaves (the sectors in) Korea and Japan vulnerable.”
Toyoki Kozai, professor emeritus of Chiba University and president of the Japan Plant Factory Association, speaks to the press at an indoor farming facility in Chiba University in Chiba, Japan. (Son Ji-hyoung / The Korea Herald)
His remark largely resonated with Korean corporations that have for years faced opposition from farmers.
The 74-year-old Kozai added China’s interest in indoor farms stemmed from the need to grow herbs for cosmetic products, such as Chinese angelica root.
Over recent years, Japanese tech giants have joined the race for investment in farms. After incorporating technology -- mainly from Dutch firms -- with their own tech prowess, some of the giants, including Panasonic and Fujitsu, gained the capacity to team up with advanced overseas business entities in China and Finland.
A worker harvests bell peppers in a smart farm run by Japanese IT firm Fujitsu, located in Iwata, Japan. (Son Ji-hyoung / The Korea Herald)
In addition, Softbank Chief Executive Masayoshi Son decided in July to invest $200 million in Plenty, a Silicon Valley startup for vertical farm technology.
Despite such efforts, Kozai expressed concerns over the soaring volume of investments in China and the United States. An example is the $1 billion investment in factory farms by Sanabio, a joint venture between the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Chinese optoelectronics giant Sanan Group.
Countries such as Singapore, Vietnam, Mongolia, and Russia are also moving to establish and operate vertical green farms, Kozai said.
In the wake of cost-saving light-emitting diode technologies, now is the best time to invest in indoor farming, according to Kozai.
Currently, products grown in indoor vertical farms are 20 to 30 percent more expensive than those of conventional farms.
JPFA, a Chiba University-affiliated vegetable factory operated across 10,000 square meters, uses solar light to grow tomatoes and strawberries, and artificial light for lettuce production.
The nonprofit organization, headed by Kozai, has sought automation of the facility by amassing a database while adopting hydroponics -- or soilless -- technologies.
Combined with the advent of artificial intelligence, such progress is taking factory farming technology to new heights. For example, JPFA will be able to produce lettuce for heart disease patients by modifying lights, Kozai said.
An interior view of an artificial light plant factory growing lettuce in an indoor farming facility in Chiba University in Chiba, Japan. (Son Ji-hyoung / The Korea Herald)
Following the success it had achieved in the artificial light growing development, JPFA has gained financial support from about 125 corporate members and 100 individual members, as of September.
In contrast, Korean firms have long faced resistance from local farmers, who say the market entry of large businesses will infringe on their livelihoods.
In September 2016, LG CNS, a software firm under the conglomerate LG, withdrew its plan to invest 380 billion won ($349.7 million) in smart farms on 760,000 square meters of reclaimed land in North Jeolla Province by teaming up with Turkish Advance International Group.
This came three years after Farm Hannong, another agricultural firm currently owned wholly by LG Corp., was forced to cancel a project to build greenhouses on reclaimed land in Gyeonggi Province, due to farmers’ protests.
SK Telecom has operated a smart farm in Sejong City on 8,264 square meters of floor space since 2015, while K Venture Group, affiliated to Kakao Corp., is holding 33.16 percent of Manna CEA, a maker of hydroponic and aquaponic products. However, industry watchers view the high-tech farming sector as being at the nascent stage.
“Business penetration into agriculture has encountered a conflict of interest,” a source told The Korea Herald, declining to be identified.
However, Kozai said Korea has the potential to stimulate farming factory growth, on the back of advanced light-emitting diode technology largely owned by local conglomerates, as well as Dutch technology-backed bell pepper farming capacity. He added that 70 percent of Korean bell pepper production is exported to Japan and dominates the market.
“Korea should increase funding to indoor farming technology,” he said. “(The) time is ripe for Korea to have the second boom in investment in the Korean agricultural market.”
By Son Ji-hyoung
Korea Herald Correspondent
(consnow@heraldcorp.com)
NOSB Votes Not To Ban Hydroponics From Organic Certification
A longtime organic tomato farmer believes this could effectively be the beginning of “divorce proceedings” between the organic movement and the USDA’s National Organic Program.
The U.S. National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) has controversially voted against banning hydroponic and aquaponic crops being eligible for organic certification, in a move that has provoked strong opinions from the sector’s stakeholders.
The vote took place last week as part of the advisory board’s fall meeting in Jacksonville, Florida, which was open to the public and involved a range of testimonies given to the 15-member board.
The board voted to prohibit aeroponic agriculture – which grows plants suspended in the air with their roots exposed – but did not pass motions to ban hydroponics, a method that cultivates plants in water-based nutrient solutions, or aquaponics which combines hydroponic systems with farmed fish operations.
A U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) spokesperson told Fresh Fruit Portal the NOSB had heard two days of testimony that were mostly focused on the three production systems.
“The Board did not come to an agreement on any recommendations about the certification of hydroponic or aquaponic production systems. Both systems remain eligible for Organic Certification,” she said.
“The Board passed a proposal to recommend prohibition of aeroponics systems in organic production. Certification of aeroponic operations also remains allowed while USDA considers the Board’s work on this topic.”
Organic pioneers have typically argued that including hydroponic crops in the National Organic Program (NOP) undermines the integrity of the label and that nurturing the fertility of the soil is a fundamental aspect of the farming method.
Meanwhile, those on the other side of the debate have held that there should be no issue including hydroponics as long as farming inputs are organic.
Maintaining the status quo
Organic Trade Association (OTA) farm policy director Nate Lewis said that this vote essentially maintained the status quo for the vast majority of the industry.
“All these systems have been allowed in organic since 2002, so I think the outcome – with the exception of aeroponics – shouldn’t really change the reality for many producers,” he said, explaining that organic aeroponics represented a tiny proportion of the sector.
He said the OTA would have supported the motion to ban hydroponics – as it did in 2010 when the NOSB recommended prohibiting the production method – if the definition of the production system had remained unchanged.
However, he said that as the Crops Subcommittee had revised the definition and coupled it with proposed standards for organic container production – which involves raising plants in containers filled with a mixture of organic matter, water and nutrients – the association, therefore, did not support it this time around.
It should be noted that despite the NOSB previously voting to recommend hydroponics be banned from organic certification – albeit at a time when the hydroponic industry was far less developed than today – the advice was not upheld by regulator the NOP.
Lewis also commented that among the OTA’s members were those who strongly supported organic certifications for hydroponics and those who strongly opposed them, but said there was a “significant segment” of membership in the middle who thought entirely water-based systems shouldn’t be allowed but container production should be, with appropriate guidelines and standards.
Banning would have been “irresponsible”
United Natural Foods vice president of policy and industry relations Melody Meyer said it was positive to see so many members of the organic community come out to participate in last week’s event, but believed the decision left the sector “deeply divided”.
“I was present in Jacksonville to witness one of the most divided NOSB meetings to date.I believe they made the right decision not to prohibit these out-of-soil production methods,” she said.
“It would have put hundreds of growers out of business, taken valuable supply away from organic consumers and squelched innovation in our movement.”
Meanwhile, the head of the Recirculating Farms Commission, which represents hydroponic and aquaponic growers, also believed the NOSB had made the right decision in not prohibiting the two production methods.
The entity’s executive director Marianne Cufone said that as many products from these farms already carried a USDA Organic label, it would have been “irresponsible and confusing” for consumers and farmers to withdraw it now.
“By siding with current science and recognizing that existing law purposely leaves the door open for various farming methods, the NOSB is sending a critical message that sustainability and innovation are valuable in U.S. agriculture,” she said in a statement.
“These goals are at the center of the nationwide local food movement and spur growth of urban and rural farms alike, by a wide range of people. Inclusiveness is important in our food system.
“The Board did vote to prohibit use of aeroponics in USDA Organic production and indicated they would discuss what type of label hydroponic and aquaponic USDA Organic certified products would display.”
The financial factor?
In support of the motions to ban the three production methods, Mark Kastel of farm policy watchdog group the Cornucopia Institute said the industry had effectively created “two organic labels”.
“One label is all about integrity and production and that impacts the nutritional flavor and quality of the food (found at farmers’ markets, CSAs, co-ops and other local retailers). The other is all about profit,” he said.
“What has made the organic industry financially attractive is the fact that consumers are willing to pay a premium for food produced to a different environmental and animal husbandry model.”
He also believed that part of the “organic story” had been about economic justice for family farmers, and that industrial-scale hydroponic production is a stark disconnect from that.
“The industry, in throwing their weight around the regulatory arena at the USDA, in appealing to Congress when that doesn’t work, is poised to kill the golden goose. A loss of consumer goodwill will impact all players, large and small – growers, distributors and retailers.”
The Cornucopia Institute is now engaging with its outside legal counsel to investigate filing a federal lawsuit, he said.
Dave Chapman, a longtime organic tomato grower with a farm in Vermont, said he was “dismayed” by the result of the vote and that it was a “great disappointment”.
“The fact that it was a close vote is a sign of how much the whole process of the National Organic Program has been compromised. It should have been consensus that hydroponics should not be certified as organic,” he said.
“That was the last vote of the same body seven years earlier when there was just one descending vote. What happened in seven years that suddenly reversed the definition of organic? I would say what happened was a lot of money.
“There was no new scientific evidence. I think the market was invaded by some large companies that were making hundreds of millions of dollars and that is what changed the conversation.”
Chapman also emphasized that the organic movement and the NOP were two different things, and believed last week’s vote may result in some profound changes in the future.
“I think that this vote was basically the beginning of divorce proceedings. The NOP is of course going to continue, and the organic movement is going to continue, but I think they’re not going to continue together.
“If consumers become aware that most of the tomatoes – and soon I suspect most of the berries, cucumbers, pepper, lettuce and basil – they’re buying in the store that’s certified organic is in fact hydroponic, they’re going to become further disheartened and stop using organic certification for the basis of how they find good food to buy.
“I think that most likely we will see the creation of one or many alternative labels to the USDA, because the USDA is failing. Of course, this is going to be a lot of work and very confusing, but I really don’t know what other choice there is.”
Amazon's Jeff Bezos Invests in Vertical Produce Farming Company Plenty
, according to a report from getting into the fresh produce businessA new investment by Jeff Bezos has the man behind the Amazon Whole Foods buyout Business Insider
Amazon's Jeff Bezos Invests in Vertical Produce Farming Company Plenty
Nov. 6th, 2017
SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, CA - A new investment by Jeff Bezos has the man behind the Amazon Whole Foods buyout getting into the fresh produce business, according to a report from Business Insider. Bezos reportedly has taken his place alongside the likes of Eric Schmidt of Alphabet, SoftBank Vision, and DCM Ventures to get in on the ground floor of Bay Area-based vertical farming startup, Plenty.
With the new investors signing on, Plenty announced it will now open a 100,000-square-foot farm in Kent, Washington, where the startup hopes to grow pesticide-free, “backyard quality,” fresh fruits and vegetables for consumers in the Seattle and Vancouver, B.C., areas. This second farm marks the first occasion Plenty will grow beyond its home in South San Francisco.
A plenty vertical farm
Business Insider reports that Plenty’s new farm will grow 4.5 million pounds of greens annually, which, according to the USDA, is enough to feed around 183,600 Americans. Set to come online in spring 2018, Plenty’s twist on the classic produce farm means that all of its crops will grow on glowing, LED-lit, 20-foot-tall towers, taking all soil, pesticides, and even natural sunlight out of the growing equation. Those of us in the biz know this is called indoor vertical farming and allows for a climate-controlled, year-round growing option.
In Seattle, Plenty has said it will begin growing leafy greens and herbs first, but will later expand to fruits, such as strawberries, tomatoes, and watermelons. CEO and Co-Founder Matt Barnard told Business Insider the company will begin selling in 2018 under it’s newly achieved organic certification and may be even looking at delivery as one option for distribution.
Matt Barnard, CEO, Plenty
Seattle’s emphasis on delicious, healthy food and energy and water efficiency makes the area a natural fit for our next Plenty farm,” said Barnard in a press release. “At nearly 100,000 square feet, Seattle will be home to our first full-scale farm and help set the standard by which our global farm network makes locally-grown, backyard-quality produce accessible to everyone. We’re excited about what’s next and look forward to building the Seattle team.”
A plenty vertical farm
To date, after Bezos’ contribution, Plenty has raised $226 million, which Barnard said will help the company fund new farms around the world in order to drive down prices and costs.
Will the Amazon leader move further into fresh produce investments as he seems to be keeping a watchful eye on the food industry? AndNowUKnow will keep you apprised with the latest.
Philips Lighting To Install its First LED Grow Light Project in New Zealand at Gourmet Mokai
Philips Lighting To Install its First LED Grow Light Project in New Zealand at Gourmet Mokai
November 21, 2017
Eindhoven, The Netherlands - Philips Lighting (Euronext: LIGHT), the world leader in lighting, today announced it has signed its first LED grow light project in New Zealand with Gourmet Mokai Ltd to improve the quality and cost efficiency of growing its popular Campari cocktail tomatoes.
Gourmet Mokai Ltd is part of the New Zealand Gourmet group of companies and sells premium fruits and vegetables to local markets and in Australia, Japan and Southeast Asia. The new LED grow lighting will be installed in January 2018 in a 4,500 square meter greenhouse at the facility in Mokai on the North Island, known for its sophisticated eco-friendly growing practices.
"Over the years, our LED technologies have helped tomato growers across the globe produce better quality fruit and higher yields, with more control over their growing climate," said Udo van Slooten, Business Leader Horticulture at Philips Lighting. "We feel privileged to be participating with New Zealand Gourmet, a leader in its field, and look forward to showing other growers in the region what we are doing at this location."
Gourmet Mokai Ltd is a joint venture of New Zealand Gourmet and two New Zealand Maori trusts, and it uses naturally occurring underground geothermal steam for heating. The Campari tomatoes are grown under glass using a hydroponic type method. The LED system chosen combines Philips GreenPower LED toplighting with GreenPower LED interlighting.
"We expect several benefits from the LED grow lights. We are using an optimal spectrum for plant growth and crop management, based on the LED light recipe specified by Philips Lighting's horticultural team. We also hope to improve the taste, vitamin C content and shelf life of our product with the LED grow lights," said Roelf Schreuder, Production Director Protected Crops at New Zealand Gourmet. "At the same time, we expect to reduce our operating costs and gain more control over the growing climate as the LEDs produce hardly any heat."
According to Schreuder, Gourmet Mokai must first learn how to grow tomatoes under LED lights and evaluate how it affects their heating set-up, CO2 supply, irrigation management and pollination. "We release bumblebees to pollinate our crops. However, when there's no daylight and the lighting system is on, the beehives have to be closed and the bees can no longer pollinate the crops. The lights will be connected with the existing Hoogendoorn climate computer system which will also control the opening and closing of the bumblebee boxes and CO2 supply."
Several parties are collaborating to make this project a success, including Philips Lighting, RTF Climate, Agrolux, Zonda Beneficials and Hoogendoorn Automation with the iSii Next Generation System equipped with a special LED light module software package.
For further information, please contact:
Philips Lighting - Horticulture LED Solutions
Daniela Damoiseaux, Global Marcom Manager Horticulture
Tel: +31 6 31 65 29 69
E-mail: daniela.damoiseaux@philips.com
www.philips.com/horti
About Philips Lighting
Philips Lighting (Euronext: LIGHT), the world leader in lighting products, systems and services, delivers innovations that unlock business value, providing rich user experiences that help improve lives. Serving professional and consumer markets, we lead the industry in leveraging the Internet of Things to transform homes, buildings and urban spaces. With 2016 sales of EUR 7.1 billion, we have approximately 34,000 employees in over 70 countries. News from Philips Lighting is located at the Newsroom, Twitter and LinkedIn. Information for investors can be found on the Investor Relations page.
3D Printed Connectors Make This Startup's Sustainable Indoor Garden Grow
3D Printed Connectors Make This Startup's Sustainable Indoor Garden Grow
by Sarah Saunders | November 22, 2017, | 3D Design, 3D Printing, Business
The first time we planted a garden in our backyard, I couldn’t get enough of watching the vegetables grow. I would go out in the yard and gently move aside the leaves to get a glimpse of the tiny green beans that were getting bigger every day. We had an abundance of tomatoes that year – so much that the cages were starting to bend from the weight. At the time, I had friends who lived in an apartment and were unable to garden outside, so they grew tomatoes indoors in one of those hanging garden set-ups. Hexagro Urban Farming, an Italian startup, is working to innovate urban farming, and this same kind of hanging garden, using 3D printing technology.
The Milan-based startup works to develop scalable, sustainable and sharing economy-based solutions, so customers can improve their production and supply of fresh, healthy, home-grown food. Last month, Hexagro launched a crowdfunding campaign on the Katana platform, which runs through New Year’s Eve, for its sustainable Living Farming Tree – an attractive, maintenance-free indoor garden, complete with 3D printed connectors.
The Living Farming Tree aims to bring nature from the outside to the inside of any workplace, like businesses, hotels, and restaurants, where its air-cleaning plants and healthy vegetables can enhance the well-being of the people there.
Irish 3D printing company Wazp, which worked with IKEA this summer on its first mass-produced 3D printed collection of home objects, also announced a partnership with the Hexagro startup for the Living Farming Tree, in order to provide a sustainable, socially responsible solution that could work in the catering industry.
“This partnership is a notable example of how 3d printing can facilitate innovative companies, like Hexagro, scale; by enabling stock-purchasing to be critically managed at the early stage of a business, so that essential capital is not tied up in stocks, while also giving a long-term option for commercial production,” said Wazp Product Development Manager Daniel Barrett. “Working with the Hexagro team is an exciting opportunity for us, to be a part of a new and innovative approach to a more sustainable farming future for countries around the world, which will be a global success.”
The Living Farming Tree is available in three size options:
- 4 Module Kit with 24 vases
- 7 Module Kit with 42 vases
- 13 Module Kit with 78 vases
The connectors for the modules are 3D printed, so that the design of the Living Farming Tree system is adaptable, modular, and scalable – thus making it possible for any person to bring nature into their own space, whether it’s at work or home.
L-R) Hexagro Urban Farming Team: Felipe Hernandez, Alessandro Grampa, Milica Mladenovic, Arturo Montufar
“We are glad to have found a partner that can help us in developing our 3D printed parts for prototyping and early fulfillment,” said Alessandro Grampa, CMO and Business Development at Hexagro. “This will allow us to maintain a dynamic product development, adapting to customer needs and feedback. Thanks to Wazp high-quality technology, we can provide our clients with the best modular and scalable farming systems adaptable to any of their indoor environments.”
By utilizing 3D printing technology to manufacture the module connectors, they can be scaled up to increase production, making the system adaptable to different kinds of crops; they also have a modular design, so the system can be customized to fit in any space. The system includes an automated monitoring device, which uses data analysis and dedicated crop planning software to adapt the Living Farming Tree to individual environmental conditions; it also comes with LED lights and an automatic irrigation system. According to the startup, the best crops for the Living Farming Tree include herbs like basil, mint, and oregano, and leafy green vegetables like kale, spinach, and lettuce.
This isn’t the first time we’ve seen 3D printing technology used to augment urban gardens, and by taking advantage of the benefits that 3D design and scalable production that Wazp’s supply chain solution offers, Hexagro will be able to bring the Living Farming Tree to the market faster, while also improving the system by listening to, and implementing, customer feedback and needs.
Speaking of customers, there are still super early bird rewards left on the Living Farm Tree’s Katana campaign – a pledge of €549 (a 30% discount from the retail price) will get you one of the first small configurations of the system, which includes a water pump, nutrient container, monitoring system, irrigation system, four LED lamps, four farming modules, 11 3D printed global connectors, and one app, with included user credentials.
The Living Farm Tree has been shortlisted for the Katana Opencircle Project, part of the European Union’s Horizon 2020 initiative.
Let us know what you think about this, and other 3D printing topics, at 3DPrintBoard.com or share your thoughts in the Facebook comments below.
Spider Webs and Succulents Inspire This Water-Collection Startup
The system designed by NexLoop combines biomimetic principles inspired by cribellate orb weaver spider webs, dwarf honey bees, mycorrhizal fungi and crystalline ice plants (pictured).
The core team behind NexLoop, a biomimicry venture, has been collaborating on its nature-inspired water collection technology for almost two years. But the first time the three entrepreneurs met in person was in mid-October in California, when their idea won the $100,000 grand prize in the Biomimicry Global Design Challenge.
"We have tons of people who are excited about pilots around the world," said C. Mike Lindsey, who hails from Brooklyn, New York, and aspires to a career in urban agriculture. "That's the main goal now: To see what it can do in various climates, and how it can scale."
His partners, who started the project, are Jacob Russo, a Carnegie Mellon-educated architect working toward his masters in international design in Stuttgart, Germany; and Anamarija Frankic, an expert in biomimicry who splits her research work between Boston and Zadar, Croatia.
The AquaWeb incorporates lessons on how nature captures, stores and distributes water in a novel new design that enables urban farms to feed our growing populations.
Russo and Frankic met at a workshop in New York, and pulled in Lindsey when they began exploring food-related applications. Their concept combines research associated with architecture, agriculture and materials.
The trio's invention, AquaWeb, mimics the way that natural systems capture, store and distribute water — not just rainwater, but ambient moisture such as fog. NexLoop believes that the approach initially will be useful in helping container farms or indoor vertical farms to become more self-sufficient. In theory, the system could have broader approaches, such as amplifying rooftop rainwater harvesting and storage for large buildings — but that's not the current focus of their pilot work.
NexLoop
The AquaWeb module is a multifunctional biomimetic system to integrate water capture, filtration, storage and distribution into food production building envelopes such as greenhouses and container farms.
"The Ray of Hope Prize judges were impressed by NexLoop's push to further their design — making it more locally attuned, more energy-efficient and decentralized — by looking to living organisms for design clues every step of the way," said Megan Schuknecht, director of the design challenge. "The result is functional and beautiful, as well as resilient, and a great example of regenerative biomimetic design. We are all looking for ways to make our cities more resilient to the effects of climate change. The AquaWeb incorporates lessons on how nature captures, stores and distributes water in a novel new design that enables urban farms to feed our growing populations reliably and affordably using locally available resources."
The contest is run by three nonprofits: the Biomimicry Institute and Bioneers (both focused on identifying innovative technologies that could be part of solutions to address climate change); and the Ray C. Anderson Foundation (named for the late Interface Carpet founder and sustainability pioneers), which funds projects around the world. The main award, the "Ray of Hope," is meant to help the winners move toward commercializing their idea.
A convergence of biomimetic principles
AquaWeb's design actually combines several ideas. The water capture mechanisms are inspired by cribellate orb weaver spider webs, which are "engineered" to collect fog out of the air; the storage concepts mimic the approaches used by drought-tolerant succulents (such as the crystalline ice plant) to hold on to water; and the trio studied the ways that certain mycorrhizal funghi, such as the Jersey cow mushroom, distribute water to the entire plant structure.
They also have been busy borrowing from bees: Each module of the system is shaped as a hexagon, like a hive structure. They can be stacked together depending on the required application — a stacked pair measures 16 inches tall by 18.5 inches wide. "They can be scaled up or down depending on the needs of who we are working with," Russo said.
In theory, the system could have broader approaches, such as amplifying rooftop rainwater harvesting and storage for large buildings.
The NexLoop team will be collecting data on several areas during the next phase of its pilot tests. For one thing, it will study how the system performs in a variety of climates — including very arid regions in Hawaii, Morocco, and Africa. They also will evaluate how materials and fabrics affect how much water can be collected.
In simulations where water is sprayed onto the system, AquaWeb captures about 50 percent, according to NexLoop's early test results — or about 2,000 milliliters per square meter of fog. Right now the prototype can store about five liters of water per unit. The team estimates it would take about 20 units to support a shipping container.
Aside from systems that could be added to a rooftop or onto the structure of a greenhouse, NexLoop is studying ways that these ideas could be incorporated directly into building envelopes — offering multiple functions with minimal material additions.
Who knows? Perhaps it could provide the foundation for decentralized water systems that support a variety of functions across next-generation buildings. For now, NexLoop will get busy proving its concept.
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Valoya Launches a New Line of State-of-the-Art LED Grow Lights
Valoya Launches a New Line of State-of-the-Art LED Grow Lights
Since its entrance to the LED grow lights market in 2009 Valoya has been dedicated to producing the highest quality horticultural LED lights for its customers which include 8 out of 10 world’s largest agricultural companies. Countless crop science companies, research institutes, universities, vertical farms etc are equipped with Valoya’s existing series (L, C, B and R). The range is now complemented with a new a line that brings significant improvements and pushes the LED grow lights industry forward.
The BX-Series is the next evolution step of the existing B-Series, the high intensity bar shaped luminaires widely used in growth chambers and similar applications demanding high light intensity. With the intensity of up to 2,1 µmol/W and a dimming feature these luminaires can produce the micromole output for the widest range of plants. The spectra include Valoya’s already available, patented wide-spectra such as NS1 (sunlight spectrum widely used in research) and AP673L (vegetative growth spectrum, widely used by vertical farmers and other growers). These adhere to Valoya's Spectrum Quality Standards which define the permitted wavelength variations among production batches as well as over time of the fixtures' usable life. This is a quality guarantee for researchers and growers ensuring them that the spectrum will remain consistent with minimal variation over a long period of time as well as when they acquire luminaires produced in more recent batches. The BX-Series, like all Valoya products, has been designed with GMP compliant production facilities in mind.
Boasting an Ingress Protection rating of IP67 the BX-Series is entirely dust and humidity resistant and can even withstand water submersion. These fixtures are passively cooled without fins thus they do not accumulate dirt over time and can be easily cleaned and if needed sterilized with harsh chemicals like peroxide, alcohol etc. Another innovation that the BX-Series brings are the GORE-TEX components in its end-caps that push the hot air and moisture out of the luminaire preventing condensation and overheating. This means the luminaires can function in high temperatures (up to 40°C / 104°F) and thus the LED chips inside last longer than in a typical LED grow light. Furthermore, their high Impact Protection (IK) rating (IK08) makes them robust and allows them to keep functioning consistently even when getting dropped or hit. All of this comes in an only 2,6 kg / 5.7 lb heavy luminaire that consumes 132 Watts (model BX120).
These are heavy duty, research grade luminaires designed to produce high and uniform light output over a long period of time. Combined with Valoya’s patented spectra and the support of a team of photobiologists, BX-Series is a smart choice of LED grow lights.
To learn more about the BX-Series, please download the brochure.
About Valoya Oy
Valoya is a provider of high end, energy efficient LED grow lights for use in crop science, vertical farming and medicinal plants cultivation. Valoya LED grow lights have been developed using Valoya's proprietary LED technology and extensive plant photobiology research. Valoya's customer base includes numerous vertical farms, greenhouses and research institutions all over the world (including 8 out of 10 world’s largest agricultural companies).
Additional information:
Valoya Oy, Finland
Tel: +358 10 2350300
Email: sales@valoya.com
Web: www.valoya.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/valoyafi/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/valoya
Autogrow Launches Cloud Application To Grow Anywhere And On Any Device
Global ag-tech company Autogrow has further revolutionized indoor agriculture with an API-enabled cloud application giving growers access to grow anywhere, on any operating system and viewed on any device.
Autogrow Launches Cloud Application To Grow Anywhere And On Any Device
22 November 2017, San Francisco, U.S.
Global ag-tech company Autogrow has further revolutionized indoor agriculture with an API-enabled cloud application giving growers access to grow anywhere, on any operating system and viewed on any device.
“With our growers now in 40 countries; our new IntelliGrow application can seamlessly support their crop production via the cloud, giving them the ability to access their Intelli controllers, change and set new data points and monitor and manage their crops – from anywhere and on any device,” says CEO Darryn Keiller.
The ability to control the devices remotely is due to the IntelliGrow API (Application Programming Interface) that Autogrow created for the IntelliDose and IntelliClimate control systems.
“Our IntelliGrow utilizes an open API which means it can integrate with any third-party systems including lighting, HVAC, sensors and machine vision systems,” explains Chief Technology Officer Jeffrey Law.
“We have also ensured enterprise-level data security of our cloud platform for peace of mind. We have had a great core group of growers as beta testers, so we have designed IntelliGrow with growers, and for growers.”
Alongside real-time data, IntelliGrow also captures unlimited historical data enabling data-driven decision making. Current language features on the user interface have also been enabled for English and Chinese with Spanish and Arabic rolling out over the next few months, reflecting Autogrow’s core customer markets of the Americas, Asia, Middle East and North Africa, Australia and New Zealand.
"Being cloud-based, we enable a significantly better, more flexible and highly scalable growing experience. Growers have historically been tethered to their growing operations and we're now removing the need to be physically present onsite. Not only that, we're empowering them with real-time data, so they're more informed, more agile to changes in their growing environment, enabling better crop management and more profitable operations," notes Mr. Keiller.
To find out more about IntelliGrow visit www.autogrow.com/intelligrow
Amazon’s Seattle Campus Is Using Data Center Next Door As A Furnace. It’s Pretty Neat
Using “waste heat” from digital infrastructure to stay warm downtown.
Amazon’s Seattle Campus Is Using A Data Center Next Door As A Furnace. It’s Pretty Neat
Using “waste heat” from digital infrastructure to stay warm downtown.
Updated by David Roberts@drvoxdavid@vox.com Nov 22, 2017
The hippest new technology: big pipes carrying hot water. Jordan Stead/Amazon
Retail giant Amazon has a rather mixed reputation among progressives, to say the least. There are ongoing debates about its labor practices and its ruthless competitive tactics, which have driven competitor after competitor out of business. Among environmentalists, opinion is also divided — some argue that online shopping (and shipping) has accelerated wasteful consumer culture, others that it has reduced the carbon footprint of shopping that was going to happen anyway.
Putting those broader disputes aside, there is one area where the company is making substantial and undeniable progress. After years of what could charitably be called benign neglect, Amazon has recently moved aggressively toward corporate sustainability.
It plans to have 15 rooftop solar systems, with a total capacity of around 41 MW, deployed atop fulfillment centers by the end of this year, with plans to have 50 such systems installed by 2020.
Amazon was the lead corporate purchaser of green energy in 2016. That year, it also announced its largest wind energy project to date, the 253 MW Amazon Wind Farm Texas. Overall, the company says, it has “announced or commenced construction on wind and solar projects that will generate a total of 3.6 million megawatt hours (MWh) of renewable energy annually.”
(Of particular interest to Vox nerds: The company also signed on to an amicus brief in support of Clean Power Plan, Obama’s signature climate policy, which the Trump administration wants to kill.)
But what recently caught my eye is the clever way that Amazon’s giant new campus in downtown Seattle will keep its occupants warm in the winter — a pleasingly low-tech solution that sits squarely at the intersection of several of my enduring obsessions: the importance of smart design, the benefits of urban density, and the need for electrification of the power system.
Juicy! Let’s take a look.
Hot water is so hot right now
Amazon is building a giant four-block campus in downtown Seattle’s Denny Triangle, which will eventually encompass five towers and five million square feet. This schematic is fromGeekwire (which has its own excellent story on Amazon’s project).
That’s a lot of space to heat during the dreary Pacific Northwest winters.
Good fortune! Just across 6th Avenue from Doppler Tower is the 34-story Westin Building Exchange, a regional telecom “carrier hotel” that houses computer and server hardware for some 250 telecom and internet companies. About 70 percent of the building is occupied by data centers.
All that hardware creates an enormous amount of heat. Lacking any better options, Westin has been venting that heat into the Seattle air, through giant cooling towers, at considerable expense.
Waste heat, meet heat consumer.
Amazon and the co-owners of the Westin — Seattle’s Clise Properties and San Francisco’s Digital Realty Trust — struck a deal: Amazon would buy some of the Westin’s waste heat.
As winter approaches, an innovative heat source will be keeping our Seattle headquarters warm. #greenenergyhttp://amzn.to/2j2t8pI
The technology is impressive at this scale, but conceptually, it’s pretty simple. Water circulates in PVC pipes throughout the Westin, gathering heat. It is then sent beneath the street (city waivers had to be granted to cross public rights of way, a huge problem for waste-heat projects historically) to Doppler tower.
Beneath Doppler, a series of large heat exchangers run the Westin’s warm water next to cool water from Amazon, heating it up (exchanging the heat). That warmed water is around 65 degrees, so it is run through a series of five heat-reclaiming chillers to raise the temperature to 130 degrees (also reducing the volume of water).
Amazon’s five big chillers, chilling.
That hot water is then circulated beneath the floors of the campus buildings via radiant heating systems, providing more than three-quarters of the heating required by the campus, at about four times the energy efficiency of a comparable HVAC system.
The cooled water then returns to the basement to gather more heat, and lo, the cycle continues.
Westin’s building manager told the Seattle Times that the building generates the heat equivalent of about 11 megawatts per day. During winter, Amazon will siphon off about 5 megawatts of that.
In effect, Westin is replacing Amazon’s need for natural gas boilers to heat the water, which would have run close to a million dollars annually in fuel and maintenance costs. Another way of looking at it: the system will allow Amazon to avoid the purchase of some 4 million kilowatt-hours of electricity a year.
What’s more, the data center is a rock-solid, reliable source of heat; it is guaranteed to always be running (unless the grid goes down). Amazon has a couple of efficient natural gas boilers for backup, but at least over the past two winters, it says they have rarely been run.
In exchange, during the winter, Amazon’s campus is serving as a giant cooling tower for the Westin, substantially reducing its cooling bill — and paying for the privilege.
It is, to risk cliché, a win-win.
To pull all this off, Amazon and Clise had to create an “ecodistrict” (navigating a thicket of city bureaucracy). The coolest part is that there’s lots more heat to use, so there’s no reason the district couldn’t be extended to more Amazon buildings, or to surrounding buildings.
An aerial view of Amazon’s Doppler Tower and Meeting Center (with its green roof). Note the “biospheres,” which will be filled with plants. (Amazon)
Old technology with intriguing new applications
There’s nothing new about “district heating” — i.e., heating multiple buildings using a single source and a network of pipes. The concept dates all the way back to the Roman Empire. In the Industrial Era, such systems were frequently used to exploit the heat from small in-city power plants. A number of modern cities, from Paris to Tokyo to Vancouver, BC, have district heating systems in use today, fueled by everything from biomass to sewer water to solid waste incineration.
What is somewhat novel about Amazon’s arrangement is the use of an electricity consumer — a data center — as the heat source. (Waste heat from data centers is used in other places, though Amazon says this is the first contract between a data center and a heat consumer with different owners.)
As I mentioned, this sits right at the intersection of three of my enduring obsessions.
First, it represents enormous energy savings with relatively old and reliable technology — it’s just water run through pipes. What produced the savings was not some whiz-bang tech innovation, but simple design. Cities produce enormous amounts of waste heat and then import enormous amounts of energy to warm themselves. It’s kinda crazy. Smarter design could help close that loop, reducing the need for imports, reducing emissions, and bringing more of a city’s energy management under its own control.
Second, along the same lines: cities! Cities are everything this century. State, provincial, and national governments are often captured by rural or corporate interests, creating substantial status quo bias. In cities, however, constant change is a fact of life and governments are at least somewhat more nimble — and that’s especially true when it comes to experimentation and innovation around the clean-energy transition. The more cities can generate and manage their own energy, the less hostage they are to state and national policy shifts.
With that in mind, why not bring more highly energy-intensive operations — not just data centers, but, oh, indoor farms, or marijuana grow operations — into dense urban areas? They have traditionally been built in the hinterlands, where land and power are cheap, but if they could make a substantial second income selling their waste heat, they might be able to justify urban locations.
That would reduce shipping supply lines. It would bring tax-paying, profit-making industrial facilities that don’t pollute into urban boundaries and budgets. It could potentially reduce urban HVAC bills, if the facilities are hooked up to district heating systems. And it would give cities more direct control over their energy fate.
Indoor farming generates lots of waste heat. Plenty
Third: Amazon explicitly decided against an electricity-based heating system, instead opting for hydroponic (fluid-circulating) system, which must draw on local sources of heat. Is this an exception to my “electrify everything” mantra?
Yes and no. Mostly no. The key difference here is that the local source of heat is itself electrical — a data center. So in that sense, Amazon is using electricity for heat. In fact, it is helping Seattle use its electricity more efficiently, getting more work out of the same kWh.
The expert community is divided on the possibility, or advisability, of moving all HVAC to electricity (like heat pumps). It would require an enormous amount of capital and produce an enormous new electricity load. Limitations on both probably mean that we’ll need zero-carbon HVAC alternatives that still draw on heated water or combusted fuel, which can substitute more easily in retrofits of today’s buildings.
Perhaps some of that fuel can itself come from electricity — it is increasingly possible tosynthesize liquid fuels that way. But a great deal of the heated water can come from existing and planned sources of waste heat, preferably drawing on electrical sources.
Making sunlight and CO2 into methane and other liquid fuels. MIT
If electricity is zero carbon, then all subsequent derivatives, from waste heat to synthetic liquid fuels, will be zero carbon as well. That is the magic of clean electricity.
Better design, urban density, and electrification all require far-seeing investment
There’s a telling line in Amazon’s blog post on this project:
Because of the up-front investment to build it, the ecodistrict isn't currently delivering heat that's any cheaper compared to a typical system, according to [Mike Moriarty, the Senior Engineering Manager who leads operations and maintenance for campus], but “the price of electricity is only going to go up.”
This is like so many clean-energy technologies: The upfront investment is high relative to the alternatives, but it pays back many times over throughout its life.
As Amazon adds buildings to the system — and maybe someday, as Seattle expands the system beyond Amazon’s campus — the savings will pile up ever higher, eventually dwarfing the upfront investment.
A robust district energy system could save Seattle money for a hundred years. Again, it’s just pipes with water, a technology that has stood the test of time. All that’s needed is policy coordination and good design.
Whatever its other sins, Amazon has shown itself willing to make patient investments; that’s why it keeps growing but never makes much profit. It invests for the long term.
Almost more than anything, it is that mentality — the willingness to sink upfront investment into long-term savings — that can move corporations (and society) toward sustainability. For that reason alone, I hope this project pays off for Amazon.
And I hope Amazon carries the lesson over to its next headquarters.
IKEA Wants ‘Radical Change’ For its Food Business to Promote Sustainability
Another area of change could be in growing its own produce through vertical farming. The company recently invested inAeroFarms, the New Jersey-based indoor farming group.
IKEA Wants ‘Radical Change’ For its Food Business to Promote Sustainability
NOVEMBER 8, 2017 | LOUISA BURWOOD-TAYLOR
“The horsemeat scandal made us take inventory of our food business,” Michael la Cour, managing director of IKEA Food Services, told an audience at the Sustainology Summit in New York on Tuesday.
While IKEA is best known for its furniture, which apparently uses 1% of the world’s timber, the retailer also has a well-known food retail business, including in-store restaurants selling its famous meatballs and marketplaces selling over 180 Swedish food products. This sideline food business sells a cool €2 billion ($2.3 billion) of food per year and serves 650 million customers, making it Sweden’s biggest restaurant by default, said la Cour.
Turning its attention to the provenance of its meat amid the horsemeat scandal — which started in the UK in 2013 but spread to other parts of Europe, including Sweden, and even the US when retailers such as Tesco realised there was horsemeat in their beef products — brought other challenges within the food system into the spotlight for IKEA, according to la Cour, such as food waste.
“It was a great opportunity for us to take responsibility for what we serve, where we source it, and who we partner with,” said la Cour.
Some key changes at IKEA in the wake of this deep dive into their supply chain included introducing the veggie meatball in April 2015 as well as taking Coca-Cola and Pepsi products off the menu in favor of Swedish fruit waters.
“Our veggie meatballs have a significantly lower carbon footprint than the meat alternatives, and are actually priced lower too; we need to move to a more plant-based diet,” said la Cour. “Everything we do is driven by sustainability design. It’s at the core of what we do and not a bi-thought.”
Referencing a conversation about the sustainability of insect-based protein compared to meat, la Cour added “I don’t know if the future is a crispy bug ball, but I know we are going to work with lots of different partners to bring changes to our food business.”
The company’s interest in edible insects is more than just lip service too, since Israeli fruit fly farm and insect protein startup Flying SpArk joined IKEA’s first boot camp and startup accelerator in September.
Another area of change could be in growing its own produce through vertical farming. The company recently invested inAeroFarms, the New Jersey-based indoor farming group.
Speaking to AgFunderNews on the sidelines of the conference, la Cour said it might be possible for stores to grow food on-site using this technology. He was set to visit AeroFarms later this week to explore opportunities.
However the company incites change at its stores and within its supply chain, la Cour said it is not wasting any time.
“We don’t need gradual change but radical change and we are willing to challenge our business model to get there,” he said. But he admitted that it still may take time to get consumers to catch up when it comes to some shifts, such as going totally vegetarian at some point.
Three Startups That Wowed Jack Ma And Won Alibaba's Backing
Three Startups That Wowed Jack Ma And Won Alibaba's Backing
November 22, 2017
PHOTO: BLOOMBERG
[HONG KONG] After hearing 600 pitches spanning fintech and robotics to healthy ageing, three startups will share US$3 million in backing from an entrepreneurs fund set up by billionaire Jack Ma.
Jumpstarter, a competition for new ideas and products similar to TechCrunch Disrupt, has the backing of Mr Ma's Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, which unveiled its HK$1 billion (S$173.4 million) fund in 2015 to support startups.
A shortlist of six candidates made the final pitches on Tuesday, getting eight minutes to talk about their products and then four minutes of questioning by the judging panel. Among the criteria used to decide winners were innovation, community impact and market potential.
The winners:
Cuttingedge Medtech Ltd: Robot doctors may not be science fiction anymore. A team of robotic and medical imaging graduates is building specialised surgical robots for orthopedics, neural surgery and oral implants. The vision is personalised care with minimal invasive surgery.
Farm66 Investment Ltd: The company is joining the increasingly hot field of hydroponics and vertical farming as companies try to alleviate a global food crisis with sustainable agriculture. Combining indoor farming with fish ponds, this startup has already won a couple of awards from local industry associations.
En-Trak Hong Kong Ltd:This four-year-old startup targets commercial buildings with a connected device platform to help manage power use. En-Trak says it can pull in data from existing meters to manage consumption and lower costs while also lowering carbon emissions, with customers already including Hong Kong Stock Exchange and Fuji Xerox.
The other finalists:
BeeInventor: Trying to bring a technology solution to an old-fashioned industry, BeeInventor has built a cloud-based platform for communication among construction workers. Its Dasloop product fits over the helmets worn on building sites and monitors body temperatures, warns of potential collisions and provides video feeds. It can also connect to gas detectors or a flashlight.
Viewider: This startup aims to help merchants on e-commerce sites pick the best site to sell on. Viewider builds search and market research tools that help online merchants suss out global e-commerce services such as eBay or Amazon, register products for sale and price their wares accordingly.
Human Washer Ltd: Like a car wash for people. This startup offers the Sit & Shower, a device that enables the elderly and mobility impaired to bathe with automated soaping, temperature control, 13 surrounding water jets and air drying. The company says the device also cleans itself.
BLOOMBERG
Indoor Farm Grows Produce In Outer Space
Indoor Farm Grows Produce In Outer Space
The plant cultivation technology will help provide food for crew members on board the International Space Station.
6 Nov 2017
Most people take the ability of walking to the supermarket to buy food for granted, but that simply isn’t a possibility for many who are based – quite literally – in the middle of outer space. Engineers at the German Aerospace Center (GAC) saw this gap in the market and created the EDEN ISS project, which aims to advance controlled environment agriculture technologies beyond the state-of-the-art. EDEN ISS is a 4-year project under the European Union‘s Research and Innovation Action program Horizon 2020. The goal of the project is to develop safe food production for on-board the International Space Station (ISS) and for future human space exploration vehicles and planetary outposts.
The project will develop an advanced nutrient delivery system, a high performance LED lighting system, a bio-detection and decontamination system, and food quality and safety procedures and technologies. A mobile container-sized greenhouse test facility will be built to demonstrate and validate different key technologies and procedures necessary for safe food production within a semi-closed system. The plant cultivation technologies will initially be tested in a laboratory setting. The next phase will see the high-tech greenhouse container shipped to the German Neumayer Station III in Antarctica, which will begin crop cultivation experiment in December.
Technology has placed itself in the middle of those who are in need of a service and the creation of the required service, with nothing seeming impossible. The mobility of the less able in poverty-stricken countries, for example, has been tackled by one company, who created an all-terrain wheelchair, while the Finnish government has teamed up with a startup tohelp refugees with their finances. How has technological advances in the past 12 months boosted your business’ operations?
Website: www.eden-iss.net
Contact: www.eden-iss.net/index.php/contact
The Farms of the Future Will Be Automated From Seed to Harvest
Image Credit: Valentin Valkov / Shutterstock.com
The Farms of the Future Will Be Automated From Seed to Harvest
By Peter Rejcek
Swarms of drones buzz overhead, while robotic vehicles crawl across the landscape. Orbiting satellites snap high-resolution images of the scene far below. Not one human being can be seen in the pre-dawn glow spreading across the land.
This isn’t some post-apocalyptic vision of the future à la The Terminator. This is a snapshot of the farm of the future. Every phase of the operation—from seed to harvest—may someday be automated, without the need to ever get one’s fingernails dirty.
In fact, it’s science fiction already being engineered into reality. Today, robots empowered with artificial intelligence can zap weeds with preternatural precision, while autonomous tractors move with tireless efficiency across the farmland. Satellites can assess crop health from outer space, providing gobs of data to help produce the sort of business intelligence once accessible only to Fortune 500 companies.
“Precision agriculture is on the brink of a new phase of development involving smart machines that can operate by themselves, which will allow production agriculture to become significantly more efficient. Precision agriculture is becoming robotic agriculture,” said professor Simon Blackmore last year during a conference in Asia on the latest developments in robotic agriculture. Blackmore is head of engineering at Harper Adams University and head of the National Centre for Precision Farming in the UK.
It’s Blackmore’s university that recently showcased what may someday be possible. The project, dubbed Hands Free Hectare and led by researchers from Harper Adams and private industry, farmed one hectare (about 2.5 acres) of spring barley without one person ever setting foot in the field.
The team re-purposed, re-wired and roboticized farm equipment ranging from a Japanese tractor to a 25-year-old combine. Drones served as scouts to survey the operation and collect samples to help the team monitor the progress of the barley. At the end of the season, the robo farmers harvested about 4.5 tons of barley at a price tag of £200,000.
“This project aimed to prove that there’s no technological reason why a field can’t be farmed without humans working the land directly now, and we’ve done that,” said Martin Abell, mechatronics researcher for Precision Decisions, which partnered with Harper Adams, in a press release.
I, Robot Farmer
The Harper Adams experiment is the latest example of how machines are disrupting the agricultural industry. Around the same time that the Hands Free Hectare combine was harvesting barley, Deere & Company announced it would acquire a startup called Blue River Technology for a reported $305 million.
Blue River has developed a “see-and-spray” system that combines computer vision and artificial intelligence to discriminate between crops and weeds. It hits the former with fertilizer and blasts the latter with herbicides with such precision that it can eliminate 90 percent of the chemicals used in conventional agriculture.
It’s not just farmland that’s getting a helping hand from robots. A California company called Abundant Robotics, spun out of the nonprofit research institute SRI International, is developing robots capable of picking apples with vacuum-like arms that suck the fruit straight off the trees in the orchards.
“Traditional robots were designed to perform very specific tasks over and over again. But the robots that will be used in food and agricultural applications will have to be much more flexible than what we’ve seen in automotive manufacturing plants in order to deal with natural variation in food products or the outdoor environment,” Dan Harburg, an associate at venture capital firm Anterra Capital who previously worked at a Massachusetts-based startup making a robotic arm capable of grabbing fruit, told AgFunder News.
“This means ag-focused robotics startups have to design systems from the ground up, which can take time and money, and their robots have to be able to complete multiple tasks to avoid sitting on the shelf for a significant portion of the year,” he noted.
Eyes in the Sky
It will take more than an army of robotic tractors to grow a successful crop. The farm of the future will rely on drones, satellites, and other airborne instruments to provide data about their crops on the ground.
Companies like Descartes Labs, for instance, employ machine learning to analyze satellite imagery to forecast soy and corn yields. The Los Alamos, New Mexico startup collects five terabytes of data every day from multiple satellite constellations, including NASA and the European Space Agency. Combined with weather readings and other real-time inputs, Descartes Labs can predict cornfield yields with 99 percent accuracy. Its AI platform can even assess crop health from infrared readings.
The US agency DARPA recently granted Descartes Labs $1.5 million to monitor and analyze wheat yields in the Middle East and Africa. The idea is that accurate forecasts may help identify regions at risk of crop failure, which could lead to famine and political unrest. Another company called TellusLabs out of Somerville, Massachusetts also employs machine learning algorithms to predict corn and soy yields with similar accuracy from satellite imagery.
Farmers don’t have to reach orbit to get insights on their cropland. A startup in Oakland, Ceres Imaging, produces high-resolution imagery from multispectral cameras flown across fields aboard small planes. The snapshots capture the landscape at different wavelengths, identifying insights into problems like water stress, as well as providing estimates of chlorophyll and nitrogen levels. The geo-tagged images mean farmers can easily locate areas that need to be addressed.
Growing From the Inside
Even the best intelligence—whether from drones, satellites, or machine learning algorithms—will be challenged to predict the unpredictable issues posed by climate change. That’s one reason more and more companies are betting the farm on what’s called controlled environment agriculture. Today, that doesn’t just mean fancy greenhouses, but everything from warehouse-sized, automated vertical farms to grow rooms run by robots, located not in the emptiness of Kansas or Nebraska but smack dab in the middle of the main streets of America.
Proponents of these new concepts argue these high-tech indoor farms can produce much higher yields while drastically reducing water usage and synthetic inputs like fertilizer and herbicides.
Iron Ox, out of San Francisco, is developing one-acre urban greenhouses that will be operated by robots and reportedly capable of producing the equivalent of 30 acres of farmland. Powered by artificial intelligence, a team of three robots will run the entire operation of planting, nurturing, and harvesting the crops.
Vertical farming startup Plenty, also based in San Francisco, uses AI to automate its operations, and got a $200 million vote of confidence from the SoftBank Vision Fund earlier this year. The company claims its system uses only 1 percent of the water consumed in conventional agriculture while producing 350 times as much produce. Plenty is part of a new crop of urban-oriented farms, including Bowery Farming and AeroFarms.
“What I can envision is locating a larger scale indoor farm in the economically disadvantaged food desert, in order to stimulate a broader economic impact that could create jobs and generate income for that area,” said Dr. Gary Stutte, an expert in space agriculture and controlled environment agriculture, in an interview with AgFunder News. “The indoor agriculture model is adaptable to becoming an engine for economic growth and food security in both rural and urban food deserts.”
Still, the model is not without its own challenges and criticisms. Most of what these farms can produce falls into the “leafy greens” category and often comes with a premium price, which seems antithetical to the proposed mission of creating oases in the food deserts of cities. While water usage may be minimized, the electricity required to power the operation, especially the LEDs (which played a huge part in revolutionizing indoor agriculture), are not cheap.
Still, all of these advances, from robo farmers to automated greenhouses, may need to be part of a future where nearly 10 billion people will inhabit the planet by 2050. An oft-quoted statistic from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations says the world must boost food production by 70 percent to meet the needs of the population. Technology may not save the world, but it will help feed it.
Formerly the world’s only full-time journalist covering research in Antarctica, Peter became a freelance writer and digital nomad in 2015. Peter’s focus for the last decade has been on science journalism, but his interests and expertise include travel, outdoors, cycling, and Epicureanism (food and beer). Follow him at @poliepete.