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Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) is intimately connected to the responsible management of our most valuable resource: water. CEA enables us to cultivate crops efficiently regardless of external factors such as weather and location. However, this advancement comes at a cost, with water usage playing a pivotal role in the equation. Water scarcity often is a…

By Rob Eddy and Carmen Azzaretti With our latest USDA-sponsored Benchmarking Report, created in partnership with the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE), Resource Innovation Institute has brought forward validated energy and resource use data from active CEA facilities. The "CEA Energy & Water Benchmarking Report: Establishing Preliminary Benchmarks for Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA)…

Working with living organisms requires a careful balance of resource efficiency and crop quality, yet controlled environment agriculture (CEA) companies are under constant pressure to reduce resource use, minimize carbon footprints, and taper costs. By optimizing the environmental parameters within CEA facilities, indoor farm operators have the opportunity to significantly reduce the burden on HVAC-D…

Increasingly, controlled environment agriculture (CEA) operators are investing in high-efficiency technologies, including LED lighting, to control costs and remain competitive in the marketplace, as they know all too well that energy expenses are only outpaced by labor in their operational costs. But those technological efficiencies can be negated if they are not properly implemented. For…

Shining a Light on Efficiency and Productivity Metrics for CEA Lighting High-intensity lighting plays a critical role in promoting plant growth and achieving optimal yields. However, selecting the right lighting system for your CEA facility can be challenging, as there are many different light quality, intensity, and efficiency metrics to consider. Photosynthetically active radiation (PAR),…

Directed by ownership, architects, contractors, engineers and consultants combine to form a facility design dream team. Once an entity decides to construct a new leafy green-producing greenhouse, or renovate an indoor cannabis cultivation operation, they are embarking on a controlled-environment agriculture (CEA) venture that will involve core team members and dozens of specialists over several…