A 60-acre greenhouse in Morehead, Kentucky, will be outfitted with a $15 million hybrid light-emitting diode (LED) lighting system designed to reduce energy use and increase yields.
AppHarvest, the developer of the greenhouse, claims the lighting system will represent the world’s largest LED installation for a single building as the facility measures 2,762,073 square feet. The company is working with Equilibrium, a maker of greenhouses, and will use Philips GreenPower LEDs from lighting company Signify. Installation is planned to begin next year.
The controlled environment agriculture facility will grow tomatoes and cucumbers using Signify’s GreenPower LEDs paired with Agrolux’s high-pressure sodium (HPS) lamps. The LEDs will produce less heat and will be used in warmer fall and spring months to grow more produce. In the colder months, both the LEDs and HPS lamps will be used.
The greenhouse is currently under construction and will open in the second half of 2020.
