Key Takeaways:
- Empire State Greenhouses (ESG) and Intelligent Growth Solutions (IGS) to construct a 385,000 square-foot, carbon-negative “GigaFarm” in Cobleskill, New York.
- The facility will integrate 100 vertical farming Growth Towers and renewable energy systems to produce over 8 million pounds of fresh produce annually.
- Up to 50 different crops will be grown using water-efficient and renewable technologies, minimizing environmental impact.
- The project will generate over 150 full-time jobs, 600 indirect jobs, and educational opportunities for students at nearby SUNY Cobleskill.
Overview of the GigaFarm Project
Empire State Greenhouses (ESG), in collaboration with vertical farming technology provider Intelligent Growth Solutions (IGS), has announced plans to build a state-of-the-art, carbon-negative facility in Cobleskill, New York. The 385,000 square-foot “GigaFarm” will employ advanced vertical farming technology and a circular production model to address the environmental challenges of modern agriculture.
The facility will house 100 IGS Growth Towers, integrated with on-site renewable energy systems, including solar PV, energy storage, combined heat and power, and a gasifier. These systems will reduce energy costs and help eliminate one-third of the cost of food production associated with energy usage.
Sustainable and Scalable Production
When fully operational, the GigaFarm will produce over 8 million pounds of fresh produce annually, including 6.4 million pounds from the vertical farm and an additional 1.6 million pounds from greenhouses. Up to 50 different crop types will be grown in a controlled environment, ensuring year-round availability of fresh, high-quality produce with reduced food miles.
The facility is designed to be 98% water-efficient and will leverage renewable energy and Food-Energy-Waste (FEW) systems to create a circular and climate-resilient agricultural model.
Leadership Perspectives
Louis Ferro, President and Chairman of ESG, emphasized the significance of this project: “The state of global agriculture is at a crossroads between climate change, land and water resources, and rising populations, posing an increasing challenge to our ability to feed ourselves. Agriculture and energy are inextricably linked, and until energy for CEA farming becomes predominantly renewable, agriculture will continue to be a leading cause of climate change—representing part of the problem rather than the solution. Working closely with IGS, we are building a new paradigm in agriculture, integrating our on-site renewable energy Food-Energy-Waste systems with state-of-the-art advanced technologies. This is a new type of farming, built on a circular economy model, creating a resilient food system with a carbon-negative footprint.”
Andrew Lloyd, CEO of IGS, shared his enthusiasm for the collaboration: “IGS is delighted to partner with ESG on this groundbreaking project. From the outset, both our organizations have shared a holistic vision of vertical farming—one that unites cutting-edge technology with robust, renewable energy systems. By coupling IGS’s scalable vertical farming infrastructure with ESG’s circular approach and on-site renewable energy solutions, we’re creating a resilient, carbon-negative model for U.S. agriculture, capable of delivering fresh, local produce to communities year-round.”
Intelligent Growth Solutions Latest News
Series C Fundraise and Investor Support (2024/01/18)
Intelligent Growth Solutions has raised £22.5 million in a Series C funding round to expand its vertical farming technology globally. The funding was led by institutional investors and private shareholders. The company is collaborating with Dubai-based ReFarm to build a GigaFarm in the UAE, aiming to replace 1% of UAE’s food imports and recycle over 50,000 tonnes of food waste. The company is also undergoing leadership changes, with Andrew Lloyd taking over as CEO and Sonya Hotson joining as full-time CFO. The year ahead is expected to be transformational for IGS.
Intelligent Growth Solutions (IGS) partners with ReFarm for Dubai’s GigaFarm project (2023/12/06)
IGS and ReFarm will build GigaFarm, a 900,000 sq. ft. facility in Dubai, using circularity, clean technologies, and six technologies for efficient resource use. The project aims to recycle food waste and grow over three million kilos of produce annually, contributing to UAE’s food security and reducing food imports by 1%.
Read more here.
Achieves B Corp Certification (2023/11/16)
Intelligent Growth Solutions (IGS) has achieved B Corp certification, reflecting its high environmental and social governance standards. The company’s expansion, including a tripling of its workforce and global deployment of its technology, marks a significant milestone in its commitment to sustainability and social responsibility. IGS views this achievement as the beginning of a journey towards further positive impact, remaining committed to enhancing its processes across various domains.
New Relic Signs New Vertical Farming Customer: IGS (2023/03/22)
Intelligent Growth Solutions (IGS) has adopted New Relic, according to a statement from New Relic (NYSE: NEWR), to foster innovation and maintain real-time visibility throughout its network of indoor vertical farming towers. IGS has access to more than 30 monitoring tools with New Relic, allowing the business to identify problems and find solutions more quickly and effectively than ever before. Moreover, IGS gains insight into system performance thanks to the New Relic all-in-one strategy, enabling it to see trends and patterns that could affect the dependability and accessibility of its vertical expansion towers. The application performance monitoring (APM) agent from New Relic has made it possible to reduce resolution times by 80% and costs by 58%, improve developer productivity, comprehend linkages among microservices, and make installation simple.
Andrea Zopp Joines Intelligent Growth Solutions’ Board (2022/12/19)
Andrea Zopp has joined the board of Intelligent Growth Solutions (IGS), a company that provides an agricultural infrastructure with its headquarters in Edinburgh. Ms. Zopp is a skilled corporate executive and lawyer with extensive expertise in company transactions, legal disputes, and human resources. She joins IGS’ non-executive team to further the company’s international growth as it increases its ability to provide its vertical farming equipment to clients on four continents. Ms. Zopp graduated from Harvard College with a BA in History of Science and from Harvard Law School with a JD.
Loveland, Colorado Set To Be IGS’ North American HQ (2022/11/17)
Intelligent Growth Solutions (IGS) is expanding and has chosen Loveland, Colorado as its North American headquarters. The move will allow the company to better serve its North American customers, which is its fastest-growing market. Loveland’s skilled labor pool was also a factor in the decision. IGS expects to create 114 new jobs with an average annual wage of $98,991. The state of Colorado will provide up to $2,758,845 in tax credits to IGS over eight years.
Intelligent Growth Solutions Partners with HarvestUp To Build Vertical Farm at Missouri Technical College (2022/11/09)
Intelligent Growth Solutions (IGS) and HarvestUp have partnered to build a vertical farm at the Ranken Technical College Campus in Missouri. The farm will consist of four IGS Growth Towers and will provide students with a hands-on learning environment where they can learn about vertical farming, IT, construction, and HVAC systems. The produce from the farm will be sold to local retailers, and the companies plan to expand the number of towers in the future. Construction is expected to begin in early 2023.
HSWT Partners with Intelligent Growth Solutions (2022/08/02)
On Tuesday, July 26, 2022, members of the HSWT met with representatives of the company Intelligent Growth Solutions (IGS) in the Salettl at the Hofgarten Weihenstephan to cooperate. As one of the world’s leading Agritech companies, IGS supplies cutting-edge technology in the field of vertical farming. The partnership sets strategically important groundwork in order to position the university as the point of contact in Bavaria for this innovative field of research.
IGS Partners With CubicAcres To Deliver Tech To East-Coast USA (2022/06/23)
Indoor agritech specialist Intelligent Growth Solutions (IGS) has partnered with CubicAcres to expand its commercial operations on the East Coast of the USA. CubicAcres plans to use IGS vertical farming technology to grow salad crops such as Romaine lettuce and produce up to 2.5 million heads of lettuce per year. The eight-tower farm will provide CubicAcres with a precision-controlled indoor ecosystem that is highly flexible, scalable and requires no arable land or soil. The project will bring investment and new jobs to the region, and the farm will be fully operational by early 2023.
Image provided by IGS
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