Japan Just Debuted The World's Largest Indoor Farm Using LED Lights

GE Reports

Working in Miyagi Prefecture in eastern Japan, which was badly hit by powerful earthquake and tsunamis in 2011, Shimamura turned a former Sony Corporation semiconductor factory into the world’s largest indoor farm illuminated by LEDs. The special LED fixtures were developed by GE and emit light at wavelengths optimal for plant growth.

The farm is nearly half the size of a football field (25,000 square feet). It opened on July and it is already producing 10,000 heads of lettuce per day. “I knew how to grow good vegetables biologically and I wanted to integrate that knowledge with hardware to make things happen,” Shimamura says.

Using 17,500 LED Lights Shimamura has created one efficient ecosystem. He's able to grow lettuce two-and-a-half times faster than a conventional outdoor farm AND he's cut waste down to just 10%. Using cultivation racks the current system uses just 1 percent of the amount of water need by outdoor farms. It's probably safe to assume that the amount of pesticides and herbicides needed go way down.

This is just brilliant ..! Japanese people are amazing ..

originally posted by: junglimogli
This is just brilliant ..!

Good one!

I bet hands down its GMO produce

a reply to: ATSmediaPRO

The only thing I see that could be improved on this project is that the inventor is using fluorescent lighting in tandem with the LED setup. There are studies out there that say that fluorescent lighting puts out some amount of mercury vapors (neurotoxin, etc).

Still, at least the products grown there should likely be free of radiation (assuming they can get clean water and nutrient sources). I hope his next version uses more LED's. He could have used the blue wavelength LED's instead of the fluorescent lights. Very nice find, S+F.

a reply to: ATSmediaPRO

Intelligent approach to growing Flora inside, nice job indeed JAPAN

This could be implemented into underground developments (if not already existing in some form)
If only all here worked together as a species, what could be done...

Washington State could use some of this new tech about now.

I would love to know the failure rate of of the LED's. I think they might not match the manufactures rated hours.

So he uses 1% of the water that would normally be required, but...

...I'd hate to see the electric bill.

And why is the guy in the picture wearing a full-on lab/hazmat suit? Is he afraid he's going to give the lettuce H1N1? So many things that are wrong with the human race are conveyed by this one picture alone.

We're aliens on our own planet.

a reply to: NthOther
AH ,that is a clean room garment ,class 100 not an NBC suit.

SO what's new! Except for the size marijuana growers have been doing it for years. And doing it successfully as well.

originally posted by: cavtrooper7

AH ,that is a clean room garment ,class 100 not an NBC suit.

Are they growing vegetables or assembling microchips?

I can't tell.

a reply to: NthOther

No different than working in any food manufacturing facility. When I worked in a chicken factory we had to wear white coats, boots, hairnets, and we had to *gasp* wash our hands! I know, crazy stuff eh?

a reply to: cyberheater

I would love to know the failure rate of of the LED's. I think they might not match the manufactures rated hours.

Well since GE made the specifically for this purpose I imagine they do.

The special LED fixtures were developed by GE and emit light at wavelengths optimal for plant growth.

www.gereports.com...

originally posted by: TheComte

No different than working in any food manufacturing facility. When I worked in a chicken factory we had to wear white coats, boots, hairnets, and we had to *gasp* wash our hands! I know, crazy stuff eh?

Yes, it is crazy. Food is supposed to be grown from the earth, not "manufactured" in a lab.

Is this unsanitary?


I don't see any hairnets or nitrile gloves, but I would rather eat that than the frankenfood you're "manufacturing" in your chicken-factory-o'-death.

a reply to: NthOther

Are they growing vegetables or assembling microchips?

I can't tell.

Well it is Japan so they could be doing both.

originally posted by: NthOther
...I'd hate to see the electric bill.

LEDS are in the 90%+ efficiency range and can produce the same Lumens, foot-candles and Kelvins as an incandescent at a fraction of the Watts.

originally posted by: crayzeed
SO what's new! Except for the size marijuana growers have been doing it for years. And doing it successfully as well.

Seriously what is taking so long for this method to catch on?
I get that nothing can beat the real deal, just seems that hydroponics would be used by more the just our mj farmers by now

a reply to: NthOther

outside the plants have immunes systems they can battle against bacteria's and fungi but in a hydroponic lab its a sterile environment usually only dosed very carefully with beneficial bacteria and any other kid of bacteria introduced from hands and hair or whatever can make for all kinds of gross ness..

this is what i was just talking about in another thread. these big indoor food factories are the future. we need our outdoor crop space for polymers and fuels from crops like corn and hemp. outdoor veggies won't disappear but there is a very large demand for fresh vegetables out of season away from country of origin and people will take full advantage of that and make sure we can get any and all veggies fresh anytime of the year.

Man will have to master these kind of technologies if we are serious about colonizing places like the moon and mars.Which at the rate we're polluting and using up natural resources will eventually become necessary, imo.