Indoor farming, or urban farming, is just an extension of current methods of marijuana culture applied to other, lower-value crops.
We already know the techniques. When land is too valuable for farming and the transportation costs are too high for efficient delivery from distant points, these methods finally become viable with cost/benefit ratios that are today, not particularly favorable.
Use of ambient solar energy, plus some really low-energy-consumption, high-output lighting (even more efficient than LED lighting) will be part of the key. As long as relatively cheap energy is still widely available, there is no incentive.
Turns out sealed environment farming is an emerging trend in the aggy industry.
It has its roots in “urban agriculture” to mitigate the lack of fresh veggys in inner cities and to cultivate Michelle Obama’s urban food deserts. From there, it has taken on a life of its own
The concept has merit but is very capitol and energy intensive.
Its also a heck of a lot of fun to discuss with the PC crowd who are pushing the concepts for the simple reason that it is a very viable technology capable of solving many of the worlds sustainability concerns, but its implementation requires everything the PC crowd opposes.
Things like huge supplies of clean energy which can only be provided with nuclear and fossil fuel power plants and , ironically, it also requires a steady supply of carbon dioxide gas to provide for optimum rates of photosynthesis.
Turns out that optimum conditions for photosynthesis and resulting plant growth require significantly elevated temperatures and very significantly elevated levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide gas.
A large scale facility capable of providing food to large, dense urban populations requires a pretty impressive carbon dioxide separation/generation plant to supply the higher atmospheric carbon dioxide levels needed to generate the accelerated rates of plant growth and replenish the accelerated carbon dioxide depletion rates from the massive levels of carbon dioxide consumed by the combined effects of high density agriculture and accelerated rates plant growth fueled by the extended periods of lighting, higher temperature and elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide level environment
The technical discussion on how ready supply of inexpensive energy, higher temperatures and elevated levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide were the ultimate solution to the worlds food and water needs was both fascinating and rewarding
The acknowledgment by the Dean of the Agriculture department that a ready supply of carbon dioxide was potentially a vital and precious commodity needed to solve the worlds future hunger problems was a satisfying product of the give and take of said technical discussion
This observation was not as highly appreciated by many of the subsequent presenters who were presenting on their research into dangers of anthropogenic global warming due to elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide. :-)
All in all, a very enjoyable evening