Eco Factor: New technology enables veggies to grow without sun and soil.
We’ve reported about shipping containers being transformed into houses and even hotels, but Verdant Earth Technologies is transforming shipping containers into greenhouses where plants don’t need sun or soil to grow. Each of the company’s controlled environment agriculture system or CEA is fitted with five shelves, where plants live.
Instead of sitting in soil, the plants sit in a nutrient-rich solution. The developers say that they’re experimenting with different artificial lighting options, including the use of solar concentrators and fiber optics that distribute light from LEDs.
Each containerized growing system has hookups for water and electricity and the system can be set to run for a set period of time, which allows it to take advantage of the utility’s off-peak hours to even out the electrical load. The developers expect that the cost of the system will be competitive with commercial greenhouse structures, around $20 to $30 per square foot. At that cost, the system can produce 2000 heads of lettuce within one month, compared to 90 days for the same amount from a field.
Via: Discovery News
