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Horticultural Glass Price Doubles From Growth In Solar Market
Since September, the price of horticultural glass has changed dramatically. “The glass price has been almost stable for ten years, it only drops a little bit year after year. Yet a couple of months ago, the price almost doubled,” says Michael Lee with Planti
Since September, the price of horticultural glass has changed dramatically. “The glass price has been almost stable for ten years, it only drops a little bit year after year. Yet a couple of months ago, the price almost doubled,” says Michael Lee with Planti. “It’s bad news for everybody, not in the least for growers and builders.” The cause for the price change is the high demand for low-iron glass from the solar industry.
Low-iron glass is a type of glass with – the name might give it away – very low amounts of iron, meaning that it is much clearer than glass with a high iron rate. This type of glass is highly in demand for greenhouses and is also being used in the solar industry.
“This summer the solar business in China developed a lot. It’s a very volatile market usually, but since this summer it has been a strong market, meaning that solar manufacturers are buying a lot of glass for their future business. Many factories like ours, have seen orders from solar panel buyers. The demand for the raw goods is high, and so is the pressure on the factories,” Michael explains. Planii solely serves the horticultural market and does not focus on the solar business. “But since solar panels come in a fixed size and are much easier and quicker to produce, suppliers can make more profit by delivering glass for them, instead of growers. There’s a big shortage of glass in the market.”
The higher price has an effect on greenhouse builders and on growers, depending on whether the price is enclosed in their services or whether they made a fixed price. “Then also we used to deliver glass within a month when we had an order, but due to the pressure on the market the delivery time is higher now: two months or even more.” And it’s not the end of the story. Also, the price of shipping has increased. “Shipping costs from China to Ontario have been stable for many years, yet on top of everything also these costs are higher than before. With a 50% increase, it’s a big issue with great effect on the project prices.”
It’s another unexpected trend that Planti, a relatively young company, is dealing with. Starting in 2017 with HPS and LED lights and expanding rapidly in horticultural glass, the company has seen fast growth. Although they started with the lights as their core business, the horticultural glass now is the majority of the business. “Although last year we delivered more than 10,000 sets of HPS lights in Middle Asia – another reason for the growth we’re enduring,” Michael says. “Yet the demand for horticultural glass rises even faster.”
“We see that diffused glass is being used on every market. Before mainly America and Europe opted for it, nowadays we also send it to Saudi Arabia. Growers all over the world are buying diffused glass instead of clear glass. Then also more growers opt for high haze instead of low haze,” Michael says.
In Europe, most growers buy medium haze, but in the rest of the world, they go for 70% haze, which is a high haze. “Once they’ve made up their mind about the benefits of diffused glass, they want the high diffusion and the higher the haze, the more the light is diffused. This is good for the crops, for the plants to grow in a uniform way – both in flowers and vegetables.”
2020 has of course been challenging for the company as well – both in terms of production and in terms of logistics, yet fortunately, the delays caused by COVID were overcome over the summer. In order to help more growers, the company has decided to keep their focus solely on the horticultural industry, not supplying glass to the solar business. “It’s a stable business. Of course, this market provides challenges, but that’s why we work hard – to deal with these challenges”, Michael says. “We’re working hard to develop the market and believe this is possible since we have more orders every year.”
Yet despite their dedication to the greenhouse industry, they are still dealing with the higher prices for raw materials and pressure on the market. “Horticultural glass is difficult to make, whereas solar glass is easier since it’s a fixed size. Robots can be used to produce glass for solar panels, so nowadays many glass factories are expanding their production. It will take two to three months to start a new line and another two before it runs smoothly, meaning that the prices will stay high until summer next year.”
For more information:
Planti
info@plantiinc.com
www.plantiinc.com
Publication date: Wed 23 Dec 2020
Author: Arlette Sijmonsma
© HortiDaily.com
VIDEO: The Ohio State University Announces Ground-Breaking For The Controlled Environment Food Production Research Complex
This new, unique facility will support the needs of our faculty and students unlocking human potential for innovation
This new, unique facility will support the needs of our faculty and students unlocking human potential for innovation. This greenhouse of the future will be a place for collaborative research, sustainable food production, and distinguish Ohio State from other institutions. The CEFPRC will be located at the Waterman Agricultural and Natural Resources Laboratory.
This facility will provide technology and research that will impact all Ohioans and beyond.
Tagged Education Greenhouse Ohio State University Research Vertical Farming
VIDEO: Vertical Farming Offers Solutions
Vertical farming has long been seen as a solution to rising populations and increasing urbanisation, but its efficiency may make it key to sustainability in general
BY TOM JOYCE
23rd June 2020
Vertical farming has long been seen as a solution to rising populations and increasing urbanization, but its efficiency may make it key to sustainability in general
Finland-based Novarbo, part of the Biolan Group, is helping growers to adapt to the concept of vertical farming and all the benefits that come with it, according to project engineer Arttu Lammensalo.
A specialist in greenhouse technology, Novarbo’s Vertical Farming Concept is able to solve the challenges of various operations, he said.
According to Lammensalo, a facility equipped with climate control and heat re-use systems is an extremely energy-efficient way of cultivating high-quality plants indoors.
Any surplus heat energy is stored for reuse, while food transportation is decreased by moving production closer to the consumer, reducing the carbon footprint. A large amount of transpiration from the crop is captured from the air and returned to the irrigation system.
In addition, with Novarbo Growisor software, the grower is able to optimise the plant growth factors of the fully automated facility, Lammensalo said, enabling long-term production planning and wireless tracking.
“Our first vertical farm serves as our laboratory for climate control experiments,” he explained. “We want to help people to adapt to vertical farming. We have collected data for over a year and a half, working on more than ten products, determining the effect of LED lights at different times and for different periods of time. The climate control system allows us to improve irrigation efficiency by 90 per cent.”
According to Lammensalo, vertical farming is quite expensive initially, but after five years, you can expect to get your investment back. “Some are a little afraid of this technology,” he said. “If there is a power cut, for example, you need a backup energy source. Herbs and salads can be quite expensive in the winter, though, so the costs can sometimes balance out.”
Vertical farming is also gaining considerable attention as a solution to feeding the large numbers currently crowded into the world’s cities.
“Vertical farming will be useful anywhere there isn’t much growing area,” Lammensalo stated. “In Singapore, they import most of their herbs and vegetables from abroad, so they are very keen on vertical farming to avoid any supply issues. It also significantly reduces the carbon footprint, as well as the water footprint, so it’s a good solution in countries that suffer from water shortages.”
USDA Grant to Support Cornell Indoor Ag Training Programs
Fueled by year-round market demand for local food and by advancements in greenhouse technology, controlled environment agriculture (CEA) is a rapidly growing field
July 10, 2020
CORNELL UNIVERSITY
IMAGE: NEIL MATTSON, LEFT, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF HORTICULTURE, WORKS WITH PH.D. STUDENT JONATHAN ALLRED TO COLLECT DATA FROM STRAWBERRIES GROWING IN THE GUTERMAN BIOCLIMATIC LABORATORY GREENHOUSE. view more | CREDIT: JASON KOSKI/CORNELL UNIVERSITY
ITHACA, N.Y. - Fueled by year-round market demand for local food and by advancements in greenhouse technology, controlled environment agriculture (CEA) is a rapidly growing field. In this intensive form of agriculture, plants are grown in a controlled environment, such as a greenhouse, to efficiently produce fresh, high-quality fruits and vegetables.
However, commercial CEA requires advanced knowledge of both plant biology and complex infrastructure. And while New York state ranks fourth in the nation for CEA production value, the workforce hasn't been able to keep pace with industry growth.
Now, thanks to a $496,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), two horticulture experts at Cornell University will help design new CEA training programs to build a skilled workforce pipeline for the industry.
"Growers consistently state that finding well-trained personnel to operate their facilities is among the largest barriers to expansion," said Neil Mattson, associate professor of horticulture. "This project uses a targeted approach to determine what skill sets are most critical, and it develops several pathways for training - both for traditional college students and for the professional development of existing employees."
He and Anu Rangarajan, director of the Cornell Small Farms Program, will collaborate with industry leaders, Ohio State University and its Agricultural Technical Institute, and SUNY Broome Community College to develop a technical training certificate in CEA production. They also plan to create a two-year Associate of Applied Science degree for students enrolled in those schools and for other community colleges to integrate into their curriculum.
Participants will gain experience with CEA infrastructures, such as hydroponics, aeroponics, and aquaculture. They will also develop advanced knowledge in environmental monitoring, pest management, food safety, and marketing skills.
Rangarajan already oversees numerous training programs and has spent the last five years working with commercial urban agriculture operations to better understand the key factors that influence farm viability. As part of the new project, she will lead the development of an online delivery platform for the new programming.
Mattson's current research includes using energy-efficient LED lighting for sustainable greenhouse production and studying the long-term viability of indoor urban agriculture. His role in the NIFA project involves collaborating with industry partners to develop the new learning modules.
In addition to supporting more local and sustainable food systems, Rangarajan said the work they've done thus far has been essential for learning how to provide more skilled-training opportunities for new farmers.
"Our efforts have laid the groundwork," she said, "for what I hope will be a dynamic training program that will build the workforce and elevate the industry as a whole."
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Dr. Anu Rangarajan From Cornell University Joins The GLASE Webinar Series - Thursday, June 18 - 2 PM EDT
CEA Workforce Development Study: What Makes a Successful Indoor Farmer Operations Manager?
June 12, 2020
The National Science Foundation-funded research project entitled “Strategic FEW (food, energy, water) and Workforce Investments to Enhance Viability of Controlled Environment Agriculture in Metropolitan Areas” (CEA Viability in Metro Areas) seeks to help the CEA industry develop a skilled workforce that will allow it to scale.
As part of this project, Anu Rangarajan’s team has conducted research to understand the workforce/labor needs of the broader hydroponics industry (greenhouse and indoor vertical farms). The project has surveyed dozens of stakeholders. In 2019, twelve industry members were brought together in an intensive Designing a Curriculum (DACUM) workshop whereby participants reflected on the skill sets required to be an Indoor Farm Operations Manager.
The chart is currently being reviewed by peer growers worldwide, who are being asked to respond to how important each skill set is and how frequently it is conducted. Based on stakeholder input the chart will be used as a starting point for prioritizing training modules.
Next, a deeper analysis of each skill will be conducted in order to translate this research into a teachable vocational curriculum. In this presentation, we will share preliminary research findings, outline our ongoing efforts to develop a solid empirical basis for CEA workforce development training programs and invite GLASE webinar audience members to participate in this important study.
Title: CEA Workforce Development Study: What Makes a Successful Indoor Farmer Operations Manager?
Date: June 18, 2020
Time: 2 p.m. – 3 p.m. EST
Presented by: Anu Rangarajan and Whyte Marschall
Click here to register
Erico Mattos
Executive Director
Greenhouse Lighting and Systems Engineering (GLASE)
Phone: +1 302-290-1560
Email: em796@cornell.edu
TAGS Business GLASE Greenhouse Greenhouse Technology Indoor Farming Technology