August 2023 - 18

CONTROLLED ENVIRONMENT AGRICULTURE
to 2022, and Maine experienced the largest state average
price increase of 26% in the same period. Electricity rates
in 2023 may increase even faster due to large increases in
natural gas generation costs.
DEEP ENERGY EFFICIENCY RETROFITS
Rapidly rising electricity rates and the opportunity
to minimize added electrical infrastructure will motivate
deep energy efficiency retrofits, especially for heating,
hot water and horticultural lighting. Additional drivers
of deep energy efficiency retrofits include potential fines
in municipalities with new energy benchmarking laws,
tightening energy codes and increased focus on
climate resiliency.
MATERIAL SHORTAGES
Electrification is driving the rapid rise in renewable power
and EVs. Both of these dramatically increase the demand
for metals such as copper, aluminum, cobalt, lithium and
rare earth metals (for magnets). Costs of these metals are
rising and are projected to continue to rise sharply. Some
of these metals don't have enough forecasted supply to
keep up with projected demand.
MICROGRIDS AND DC LIGHTING
One of the ways to protect against rising utility rates
for electricity is to generate more electricity on-site, often
in combination with battery energy storage. Combining
on-site generation and battery energy storage forms what's
called a microgrid. Typically these microgrids produce
and store direct current power (DC), and it becomes more
efficient to connect DC loads to a DC microgrid, such as DC
horticultural lighting as well as conventional lighting.
TISSUE CULTURE LINERS
4341 Round Lake Road Apopka, FL 32712
FERNS
FOLIAGE
LANDSCAPE
TROPICALS
CELL PACK LINERS
NEW VARIETIES
SUCCULENTS
1 TRAY MINIMUM
PRODUCED IN THE USA
CONTACT US FOR MORE INFORMATION
AND REQUEST A CATALOG
(407) 889-8487 * Info@ag2tc.com
www.ag2tc.com
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AUGUST 2023 GPNMAG.COM
ADVANCED LIGHTING CONTROL ADOPTION
After converting fluorescent and HID lighting to LED
lighting, another opportunity to reduce electricity demand
is through the use of advanced lighting controls. This
is especially true when significant horticultural lighting
is used. Daylight harvesting and other lighting control
strategies can be programmed to deliver a specific daily
light integral (DLI), which is the amount of light a particular
plant needs over a 24-hour period. These control systems
are gaining wider adoption.
Indoor farmers can start making these investments to
hedge against rising costs. LED grow lights, advanced
controls and microgrids are all becoming more common
in indoor grow facilities. Utilizing available utility rebates
and various financing programs also become important
considerations. Indoor growers should seek horticultural
distributors that have expertise in all of these areas.
Consider creating an electrification plan for your facilities
now before steep increases in utility rates and shortages
of materials and equipment impact your indoor growing
operations.
David Shiller is a marketing consultant at Ultra Yield Solutions
(UYS), a horticultural lighting distributor of solid state (LED)
grow light fixtures. He can be reached at david@lightingsold.com.
High-performance LED lighting can be used
to support all stages of plant growth in the
greenhouse, from vegetative to flower.
http://www.ag2tc.com http://www.GPNMAG.COM
August 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of August 2023
