The Future of Farming
What is more sustainable than turning an old warehouse into a farm? Turning it into a net-zero waste plant that houses several hydroponic farms, a brewery, an indoor fish farm, and mushroom gardens. That was the dream of Chicago entrepreneur John Edel and it is steadily becoming a reality. Edel recently purchased a 93,500 square foot building that was a meatpacking plant in a former life and began the process of turning it into an indoor ecosystem affectionately named "The Plant."
Check out this article from FastCo Exist, which includes a clarifying video and some stunning photography. The process of filling the building is ongoing, but it already contains three aquaponic operations, a handful of bakers, a kombucha brewery, and a large mushroom garden. The project has the potential to revolutionize how food is grown in cities. Possibly more meaningful, however, is the way this close looped system will impact the impoverished community in which it was built. Not only did the project turn an abandoned building into a closed-loop food producer, but it also created over 125 jobs. This could be the farm of the future.
A Meatpacking Plant Transformed into a Vertical Farm from FastCo Exist
Written by: pmurphy
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"What does it mean to be net-zero energy?
The Plant will produce all of its own electricity and heat on site and using proven technologies. Our anaerobic digester will take in food waste (everything from spent distillers grains to vegetable produce waste to beef-fat sludge), digest it, and release methane into a combined heat and power (CHP) system. This system will supply the building with heat and electricity. The Plant will remain connected to the public electrical grid and natural gas pipeline, providing us not only with a backup power source but also the possibility of feeding our surplus electricity back to the public grid.
So while we may occasionally take power from the grid, we will also be giving it back, leaving us with a net-zero usage level.
"What does it mean to be net-zero energy?
The Plant will produce all of its own electricity and heat on site and using proven technologies. Our anaerobic digester will take in food waste (everything from spent distillers grains to vegetable produce waste to beef-fat sludge), digest it, and release methane into a combined heat and power (CHP) system. This system will supply the building with heat and electricity. The Plant will remain connected to the public electrical grid and natural gas pipeline, providing us not only with a backup power source but also the possibility of feeding our surplus electricity back to the public grid.
So while we may occasionally take power from the grid, we will also be giving it back, leaving us with a net-zero usage level.
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