Dec 23, 2016

Shenandoah Growers, Fluence Bioengineering Collaborate

Shenandoah Growers, a retail grower of organic herbs in the United States, has collaborated with Fluence Bioengineering to deploy thousands of Fluence LED solutions in its vertical farm and greenhouse facilities. With the new Fluence lighting solutions, Shenandoah Growers has boosted crop yields and quality while reducing land, water and fertilizer resources, according to Fluence Bioengineering.

Get an inside look at Shenandoah Growers vertical farm and greenhouse operation at www.fluence.science/shenandoah-growers.

With a growing need for organic culinary herb production, the company began planning and constructing an integrated greenhouse, vertical farm and regional distribution model in 2014. These efforts have culminated in a 100 percent LED-powered greenhouse. Featuring more than 750 Fluence VYPRx PLUS LED systems, the newest Shenandoah Growers greenhouse delivers double the light intensity and an improved spectral composition compared to its other high pressure sodium (HPS) greenhouses. This enables a 25 percent increase in crop production and a 50 percent increase in energy efficiency compared to the former HPS lighting systems, according to Fluence Bioengineering.

Nearly 4,000 Fluence RAZR LED systems are growing an equivalent of 1.5 acres of organic herbs in a fraction of the space, reducing land use by 75 percent, water use by 60 percent, and fertilizer use by 60 percent compared to Shenandoah Growers’ own advanced greenhouse model, according to Fluence. By using Fluence lighting solutions and patented vertical farming processes in the early growing stage, Shenandoah Growers standardizes and maintains consistent propagation prior to transplanting in their greenhouse. This approach yields healthy plants, peak-season flexibility, and consistent year-round distribution.