INDOOR SOILLESS FARMING: PHASE I

The report examines the controlled environment agriculture (CEA) industry, comparing conventional farming with hydroponic and aquaponic systems in greenhouse and vertical formats. A life cycle analysis (LCA) reveals that while conventional agriculture currently has the lowest overall environmental impact, CEA excels in land and water efficiency. The document identifies energy and labor as primary cost hurdles but highlights innovations in LED lighting, AI, and renewable energy as potential solutions. It specifically evaluates St. Louis as a viable location for a pilot project due to its market demand, available stranded assets like caves and brownfields, and supportive local policies.

• A life cycle analysis (LCA) comparing the production of one kilogram of romaine lettuce found that conventionally grown lettuce from California transported to St. Louis has the overall lowest environmental impact.
• Controlled environment agriculture (CEA) outperforms conventional agriculture in land and water use, with greenhouse hydroponics achieving the best scores in both categories, followed by vertical hydroponics.
• The high environmental impact of CEA systems relative to conventional farming is primarily driven by electricity usage and the specific energy grid mix; in St. Louis, the grid is composed of 32% coal, 35% natural gas, 26% nuclear, 3% hydro, and 2% biomass.
• Energy and labor are the most significant hurdles for the CEA industry; energy represents approximately 25% of operating costs for vertical farms and 8% for greenhouse farms.
• The CEA industry is currently specialized in high-end leafy greens because the energy required for fruiting vegetables is often too high to be cost-effective at current biomass costs.
• St. Louis is identified as a strong candidate for a CEA pilot due to its population of 2.8 million, demand for year-round produce, and the availability of stranded assets such as brownfields and an estimated 137 caves.
• Innovations in LED efficiency, such as those from Philips reaching 68% efficiency, and the use of AI to optimize yields without increasing energy use, could significantly reduce the industry's environmental footprint and costs.
• CEA systems offer a significant advantage in food safety; the CDC noted that warnings regarding E. coli contamination in California lettuce did not extend to indoor, greenhouse, or hydroponically grown produce.

APA

Schulte, C., Hauda, J., Grom, L., & Schroder, J. (2020). INDOOR SOILLESS FARMING: PHASE I. WWF International. https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/838/73r5p3ud4n_WWW_SoilessAg_Phase1_Final_Report_Full_031323.pdf

Chicago

Schulte, Caroline, Jessica Hauda, Lana Grom, and Jon Schroder. INDOOR SOILLESS FARMING: PHASE I. WWF International, 2020. https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/838/73r5p3ud4n_WWW_SoilessAg_Phase1_Final_Report_Full_031323.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Schulte |first1=Caroline |last2=Hauda |first2=Jessica |last3=Grom |first3=Lana |last4=Schroder |first4=Jon |title=INDOOR SOILLESS FARMING: PHASE I |publisher=WWF International |date=May 2020 |url=https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/838/73r5p3ud4n_WWW_SoilessAg_Phase1_Final_Report_Full_031323.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{schulte2020indoor, author = {Schulte, Caroline and Hauda, Jessica and Grom, Lana and Schroder, Jon}, title = {{INDOOR SOILLESS FARMING: PHASE I}}, institution = {WWF International}, year = {2020}, month = may, url = {https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/838/73r5p3ud4n_WWW_SoilessAg_Phase1_Final_Report_Full_031323.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }