Why vertical farming just doesn’t work

  AeroFarms filed for bankruptcy in early June, citing  “significant industry and capital market headwinds.” Rosenberg stepped down as CEO. And the entire vertical farm boom has busted, with venture funding for the sector plunging 91 percent over the last year. Pioneers such as Orlando-based Kalera, Pittsburgh-based Fifth Season, Brooklyn-based Upward Farms, and Netherlands-based Future Crops and Glowfarms have gone bankrupt or shut down. Berlin-based Infarm, another industry leader, just laid off 500 workers, more than half its workforce.

  It’s not yet clear whether vertical farming is an overhyped, premature, expensive business model that can still help change the world someday, or whether it’s just a dumb and impractical idea. Its biggest immediate problem is that it’s a ludicrous energy hog, because even though LEDs are way cheaper than they used to be, they’re way more expensive than sunlight.