Title of Project: Vertical Farming: Skyscraper Sustainability?
Name: Malek Al-Chalabi
University and Department: Centre for Environmental Policy, Imperial College London Academic Year: 2009-2010 Supervisors: Professor David Fisk and Dr. Robert Gross Objectives: Vertical farming is the urban farming of fruits, vegetables, and grains, inside a building in a city or urban centre, in which floors are designed to accommodate certain crops. The objective of this thesis was to investigate the feasibility and plausibility of the vertical farming concept in three specific and interrelated research domains. The first research question was to investigate whether enough energy can be generated onsite to meet the needs of the building. The second research question was to investigate the carbon footprint of produce grown vertically and compare that to produce grown conventionally (greenhouse and outdoors). The final research question was to investigate how relevant stakeholders perceive the concept of vertical farming and what they believe are current barriers and opportunities towards uptake of the technology. The purpose of this investigation was to determine ways to supply food to cities in an energy efficient and sustainable manner from both a quantitative and qualitative approach. Introduction: It is predicted that the world population will reach 9 billion by 2050, of which 70% will live in urban centres. This change, alongside a changing climate, will strain Earths resources, specifically the ability to supply food. A valuable investigation would be to determine other ways to supply food to cities alongside current agricultural practices in a sustainable manner. One idea is the concept of vertical farming. Vertical farming can be defined as farming fruits, vegetables, grains, etc in the middle of a city inside of a building where different floors have different purposes (one floor for a certain crop, another floor for a vegetable, etc) using hydroponics (water with nutrients). The concept of supplying food in cities is not a new one as the history of urban agriculture goes back to many ancient civilizations, including the Mayans, the city of Tenochtitlan (Mexico City today), etc. There are many developments taking place today that apply the concept of urban agriculture, and the concept of vertical farming is a large scale extension of urban agriculture. Methodology: There were six major steps that took place in this thesis. First, a literature review was conducted to examine whether or not current agricultural practices were exhausting our natural resources, and whether it was sensible to explore other farming options. This was done from a space, energy, health, and climate change perspective. Secondly, a history and overview of urban agriculture was introduced. The history of urban agriculture was provided because it offered a sense of the history and development of the concept, its applications in the past and today, and the advantages and disadvantages associated. Vertical farming, a subset of urban agriculture, was then introduced to define the scope of the concept within the thesis. Thirdly, an investigation took place to quantify the energy flows in the building. A model was developed that quantified how much energy can be generated on site, and how much energy will be used on site. The energy generation source was from photovoltaics, and the energy was used to pump the water, light the building(for indoor cultivation), and ventilate the building. The limitation of this approach was that one design was investigated. The design that was investigated came from Dr. Dickson Despommier, a professor at Columbia University, and he is coined with developing the idea. Different conclusions could have been reached with different designs, but his design was selected because it was not only from the innovator of the idea, but also because it was the most practical and realistic out of all the designs that were surveyed. Fourthly, a limited life cycle analysis of lettuce grown vertically was quantified. Lettuce was selected because the life cycle analysis of lettuce grown conventionally (greenhouses and outdoors) was found in the summer and the winter time in the UK (a study by Dr. Hospido), and also because a pilot program at the Paignton Zoo in the UK was growing lettuce vertically, which made a comparison plausible. Because vertical farming is a relatively new concept, no other studies were found that quantified the footprint of vertically grown produce. The same carbon conversions that were used in Hospidos studies were usedin this thesis. Some limitations were present, and theseinclude the fact that the waste stream was not included in conventionally grown produce (Hospidos study did not quantify this), the hydroponic nutrient cultureand the carbon emissions associated were not included, and the two week lettuce development at a separate nursery before the lettuce arrives at the zoo was also not includedbecause data was not available. Fifthly, an exploration of social perceptions of relevant stakeholders took place, and this includes architects, engineers, members of staff at Paignton Zoo, members of staff who sell the vertical farming technology (Valcent), and the general public. Semi structured interviews were conducted to explore the concept, and semi structured interviews were selected in order to explore the concept freely. Interviews were conducted in person, and when not possible, on the telephone or through e-mail. Interviews were in the UK and this is a limitation. A broader global audience would have been ideal with more time. Finally, conclusions were provided on each respective research domain (energy flow, life cycle analysis, and social exploration), and then general conclusions were drawn from the research domains. Results (and/or Analysis): Quantitatively, the findings indicated that Despommiers original design could not generate enough energy on site to meet the demands of the buildings (water pumping, lighting, and ventilation). However, when modifying the dimensions of the building while maintaining a height of 105 meters (30 stories), the finding was that there were certain dimensions where enough energy could be generated on site to meet the energy needs of the building. A more complex model was then developed that took into account building orientation as well as different amounts of energy generated from the roof and from the faade. The findings indicate that if a building is in an area of abundant sunlight, then a building with a length and width between 20.5 meters to 22 meters and a height of 105 meters can generate enough energy via solar panels on the roof and the faade to meet the lighting and water pumping requirements. The life cycle analysis findings indicate that in the summer time, lettuce that is grown vertically has a carbon footprint that is five times grater than in open fields, while in the winter, lettuce that is heated has a footprint that is two times greater. The reason that the footprint is greater is because a majority of the energy that comes in cultivating the crops verticallycomes from the electricity grid. When interviewing relevant stakeholders, it was found that architects, engineers, member of the general public, Valcent staff, and staff at Paignton Zoo have areas of agreement and disagreement. Engineers believed that an old building could be retrofitted to meet the needs of the vertical farm, while architects believed that a new build was required. All were in agreement that costs werean important aspect in deciding whether or not to build the project, and many agreed that more research was required. A barrier identified was that many people perceived hydroponics as food made from chemicals and not natural, and therefore could be a social barrier towards the uptake of produce grown in cities. Discussion, Conclusions and Implications: From an energy perspective, the results indicate that vertical farming is feasible in areas that do not require heating and are in areas that have abundant sunlight. With these conditions, enough energy could be generated to light the building and pump the water. An area of future research would be to determine the site specific environmental implications of obtaining water from areas that have abundant sunlight (primarily desert regions). From a life cycle perspective, the findings indicate that vertically grown produce has a carbon footprint that is much higher than conventionally grown produce when sourced from conventional energy sources. If sourced from renewable energy sources, it can be competitive compared to conventional produce, but this is an area of future research. An area of future research would be to do a techno economic study of the concept, as well as a life cycle analysis that incorporates the waste stream, nutrient culture, and cultivation at the nursery. From a qualitative perspective, the findings indicate that social barriers as well as technical barriers do exist for vertical farming. This includes the perception that food grown hydroponically is not natural. Therefore, if this idea is to be implemented, then an area of future research would be to see how public awareness campaigns can be orchestrated towards providing non bias information to members of the general public, and if these campaigns change opinions before and after exposure to the information. Future research should also be conducted with stakeholders in site specific locations (places with abundant sunlight). Overall, vertical farming is a concept that is in its technical infancy. This research suggests that it is a concept that is feasible in the right geographical areas, and areas with abundant sunlight seem to be the most promising. Future research should incorporate costs, maintenance, and environmental impact. Social and technical barriers do exist. The findings indicate that vertical farming is a tool that can be used to supply food to cities in a sustainable manner, but this depends on the location and design.