High Rise Lettuce

High Rise Lettuce

A former Sony Corporation semiconductor factory in Japan has been converted into the world’s largest indoor farm. Japanese plant physiologist Shigeharu Shimamura, CEO of Mirai Co., partnered with GE Japan to make his dream of a water, space and energy efficient indoor farming system a reality. Despite having only started production a year ago, the farm is already shipping out 10,000 heads of lettuce per day.

The farm is located in Miyagi Prefecture in eastern Japan, the area that was badly hit by a powerful earthquake and tsunami in 2011. At 25,000 square feet, it is nearly half the size of a football field, and 17,500 LED lights spread over 18 cultivation racks reaching 15 levels high are a key to the farm’s success. The LEDs were developed for the project by GE and emit light at wavelengths optimal for plant growth, allowing Shimamura to control the night-and-day cycle and accelerate production.

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