World's biggest indoor vertical farm near NYC to use 95% less water

[Plazma Inferno!]

AeroFarms is on track to produce 2 million pounds of food per year in its 70,000-square-foot facility in Newark, under construction less than an hour outside of Manhattan. Their efficient operation, based on previous experience at similar but smaller facilities, can accomplish this astonishing output while using 95% less water than field farmed-food and with yields 75 times higher per square foot annually.
This new facility is comparable in efficiency to what is currently the world’s largest vertical farm in Japan, but nearly three times the size. Staggering its crops is part of the success behind AeroFarm’s strategy at their new and existing locations – at a given facility they are able to switch between 22 crops per year. Their all-season growth works with specialized LED lights and climate controls all without the need for sunlight or soil.

http://weburbanist.com/2016/06/05/worlds-biggest-indoor-vertical-farm-near-nyc-to-use-95-less-water/

 

[Ophiolite]

And yet some doubt we could feed ourselves on Mars.

 

[Beer w/Straw]

Do not know how relevant but just watched it (bored).

And not totally sure about swearing as I've watched other videos by this guy.

 

[timojin]

AeroFarms is on track to produce 2 million pounds of food per year in its 70,000-square-foot facility in Newark, under construction less than an hour outside of Manhattan. Their efficient operation, based on previous experience at similar but smaller facilities, can accomplish this astonishing output while using 95% less water than field farmed-food and with yields 75 times higher per square foot annually.
This new facility is comparable in efficiency to what is currently the world’s largest vertical farm in Japan, but nearly three times the size. Staggering its crops is part of the success behind AeroFarm’s strategy at their new and existing locations – at a given facility they are able to switch between 22 crops per year. Their all-season growth works with specialized LED lights and climate controls all without the need for sunlight or soil.

http://weburbanist.com/2016/06/05/worlds-biggest-indoor-vertical-farm-near-nyc-to-use-95-less-water/

It is all nice , but what sort of electric bill will that generate ? and the cost for maintenance

 

[Billy T]

And yet some doubt we could feed ourselves on Mars.

They are not specific on what is the mass input that makes 2 million pound (of mass) out put. Would that mass imput be available on Mars?

 

[Jeeves]

It is all nice , but what sort of electric bill will that generate ? and the cost for maintenance

You can get the lighting free with big windows (I have had my eye on the financial towers for a long time: gardens in the top stories; living quarters below.) and solar panels; heat, you can generate with sunlight and plant waste products. Doesn't have to be expensive.
Never mind Mars; plenty of hungry people in our earthly cities.

 

[timojin]

You can get the lighting free with big windows (I have had my eye on the financial towers for a long time: gardens in the top stories; living quarters below.) and solar panels; heat, you can generate with sunlight and plant waste products. Doesn't have to be expensive.
Never mind Mars; plenty of hungry people in our earthly cities.

I am not sure if a special lighting will be required such as most blue and red spectra.

 

[Billy T]

I am not sure if a special lighting will be required such as most blue and red spectra.

For greatest electical efficiency only those two are needed. Plants only use those parts of natural sunlight, and switch between them but I forget which is mainly used when sun is high in the sky.

 

[Ophiolite]

Never mind Mars; plenty of hungry people in our earthly cities.

There are many people concerning themselves with the short term. I prefer to speak out on behalf of the medium term.

 

[billvon]

Never mind Mars; plenty of hungry people in our earthly cities.

Not in New Jersey. The problems of obesity there far outweigh any problems with actual hunger. Still, it's a good way to learn techniques we can use elsewhere.

 

[Walter L. Wagner]

These work well with fast growth, high water use, plants, like lettuce.

 

[Jeeves]

Not in New Jersey. The problems of obesity there far outweigh any problems with actual hunger. Still, it's a good way to learn techniques we can use elsewhere.

There is obesity all over North America. It is not caused by cheap, readily-available fresh greens.
People in poor inner-city neighbourhoods, where fresh fruit and vegetables are too expensive, don't even get into the habit of cooking or eating it; they
would benefit greatly from local produce. Though I'm not a big fan of food factories in general, I do like the idea of cutting down on long-distance shipping.

 

[billvon]

There is obesity all over North America. It is not caused by cheap, readily-available fresh greens

Correct. It is caused by people choosing to eat junk.

I'm from New York originally and I've worked in New Jersey. There are plenty of cheap greens available in New Jersey. But when faced with some spinach salad or a Big Mac, most people in New Jersey go for the Big Mac - which is why we have the obesity problem we do.

theywould benefit greatly from local produce.

How would you force them to eat it?

 

[Jeeves]

Correct. It is caused by people choosing to eat junk.

I'm from New York originally and I've worked in New Jersey. There are plenty of cheap greens available in New Jersey. But when faced with some spinach salad or a Big Mac, most people in New Jersey go for the Big Mac - which is why we have the obesity problem we do.

How would you force them to eat it?

I couldn't care less what they choose to eat in New Jersey.

I just said that many poor people in cities would benefit from cheap, readily-available local produce and the environment would benefit from less stress on the California water supply and fewer diesel-burning trucks on the highways.

And, of course, the obesity epidemic might be stemmed by better education, early in life.

 

[cosmictraveler]

And yet some doubt we could feed ourselves on Mars.

There is no water on Mars so how do you think that plants can survive there without water?

 

[Ophiolite]

There is no water on Mars so how do you think that plants can survive there without water?

You are incorrect, but I shall entertain citations from reputable peer reviewed journals that offer support for your belief.

 

[billvon]

There is no water on Mars so how do you think that plants can survive there without water?

======================
Sept. 28, 2015
RELEASE 15-195

NASA Confirms Evidence That Liquid Water Flows on Today’s Mars

New findings from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) provide the strongest evidence yet that liquid water flows intermittently on present-day Mars.

Using an imaging spectrometer on MRO, researchers detected signatures of hydrated minerals on slopes where mysterious streaks are seen on the Red Planet. These darkish streaks appear to ebb and flow over time. They darken and appear to flow down steep slopes during warm seasons, and then fade in cooler seasons. They appear in several locations on Mars when temperatures are above minus 10 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 23 Celsius), and disappear at colder times.

“Our quest on Mars has been to ‘follow the water,’ in our search for life in the universe, and now we have convincing science that validates what we’ve long suspected,” said John Grunsfeld, astronaut and associate administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. “This is a significant development, as it appears to confirm that water -- albeit briny -- is flowing today on the surface of Mars.”

These downhill flows, known as recurring slope lineae (RSL), often have been described as possibly related to liquid water. The new findings of hydrated salts on the slopes point to what that relationship may be to these dark features. The hydrated salts would lower the freezing point of a liquid brine, just as salt on roads here on Earth causes ice and snow to melt more rapidly. Scientists say it’s likely a shallow subsurface flow, with enough water wicking to the surface to explain the darkening.

"We found the hydrated salts only when the seasonal features were widest, which suggests that either the dark streaks themselves or a process that forms them is the source of the hydration. In either case, the detection of hydrated salts on these slopes means that water plays a vital role in the formation of these streaks," said Lujendra Ojha of the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) in Atlanta, lead author of a report on these findings published Sept. 28 by Nature Geoscience.
=======================

 

[cosmictraveler]

======================
Sept. 28, 2015
RELEASE 15-195

NASA Confirms Evidence That Liquid Water Flows on Today’s Mars

New findings from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) provide the strongest evidence yet that liquid water flows intermittently on present-day Mars.

Using an imaging spectrometer on MRO, researchers detected signatures of hydrated minerals on slopes where mysterious streaks are seen on the Red Planet. These darkish streaks appear to ebb and flow over time. They darken and appear to flow down steep slopes during warm seasons, and then fade in cooler seasons. They appear in several locations on Mars when temperatures are above minus 10 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 23 Celsius), and disappear at colder times.

“Our quest on Mars has been to ‘follow the water,’ in our search for life in the universe, and now we have convincing science that validates what we’ve long suspected,” said John Grunsfeld, astronaut and associate administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. “This is a significant development, as it appears to confirm that water -- albeit briny -- is flowing today on the surface of Mars.”

These downhill flows, known as recurring slope lineae (RSL), often have been described as possibly related to liquid water. The new findings of hydrated salts on the slopes point to what that relationship may be to these dark features. The hydrated salts would lower the freezing point of a liquid brine, just as salt on roads here on Earth causes ice and snow to melt more rapidly. Scientists say it’s likely a shallow subsurface flow, with enough water wicking to the surface to explain the darkening.

"We found the hydrated salts only when the seasonal features were widest, which suggests that either the dark streaks themselves or a process that forms them is the source of the hydration. In either case, the detection of hydrated salts on these slopes means that water plays a vital role in the formation of these streaks," said Lujendra Ojha of the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) in Atlanta, lead author of a report on these findings published Sept. 28 by Nature Geoscience.
=======================

So they are only speculating as the rovers have found no water as yet.

 

[billvon]

So they are only speculating as the rovers have found no water as yet.

Well, in the same way we are speculating that Mars exists and that the Sun will rise tomorrow - yes.