Page 14 - Engineering Career Guide, 4th Edition

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No Soil, No Sun,
No Problem.
A unique approach to indoor farming could help save the planet.
Plenty, a trailblazing company in the indoor-farming industry, is making headlines with its innovative solutions for the global food crisis. Recently, it announced plans to build the world’s largest indoor verti- cal farming complex. This new facility near Richmond, VA, will span a staggering 120 acres. The $300 million facility will grow multiple crops, including leafy greens and toma- toes, but is starting with strawberries in partnership with conventional strawberry grower Driscoll. Plenty says the project, expected to generate up to 20 million pounds
of produce annually, will also create 300 new jobs. And
in May of 2023, they opened a farm that can grow up to 4.5 million pounds of leafy greens every year on a single city block in Compton, CA.
The company has developed an entirely new way to grow plants. While greenhouses and other “ver- tical” farms grow on flat planes that mimic the field, Plenty grows in 3D — on vertical towers nearly two stories high. Its indoor farming pro- cess is a marvel of engineering and automation, meticulously designed to ensure optimal plant growth and harvest efficiency. Inside the massive warehouse, a bright yellow robot gracefully han- dles towers filled with fresh kale that were growing in the neighbor-
ing aisles of greens just moments before. The robot gently places the tower on a conveyor belt, where a spinning wheel expertly trims the greens, readying them for harvest.
In another section, robots work diligently, packing trays with soil and seeds before transporting them to a separate room for germination. Adjacent to them, four robots in glass boxes carefully lift seedlings from trays and deli- cately plant them into the tall, white growing towers.
Advanced infrared cameras and sensors continuously monitor the indoor climate throughout the indoor farming complex. Powerful software then uses this data to pre- cisely adjust the light and water levels—creating the ideal “recipe” for optimal plant flavor.
In addition to saving land, Plen- ty’s indoor farms also address water shortages. Providing water to each plant individually can save millions of gallons of water compared to tra- ditional farming methods.
By 2050, the demand for food
is predicted to increase by more than 50%. At a time when agricul- ture faces evolving environmental pressures, including soil degrada- tion, Plenty has developed a unique method of farming that is insulated from those challenges and uses just a fraction of the land and water of conventional agriculture.
14 START-ENGINEERING.COM COURTESY PLENTY