Philadelphia Gets World’s First Solar-Powered Indoor Vertical Garden

If the title of the TV show is to be believed, it’s always sunny in Philadelphia. That might not be exactly the truth, but there’s enough sunshine in the City of Brotherly Love to power… well… a large garden. If you’re left scratching your head, no worries. Something that’s never been done before is taking place in Philly, and it’s pretty exciting. Metropolis Farms has built the world’s first solar-powered indoor vertical garden. What does that even mean? Well, Philadelphia has only eight combined acres of urban farming land, which, suffice it to say, isn’t much. The new garden will be located on the fourth floor of a building downtown and, thanks to its vertical orientation, will grow the equivalent of 660 acres in less than 100,000 square feet.

Philadelphia will be home to the world’s first solar-powered indoor vertical garden, made possible thanks to the use of energy from the sun.

What will power this garden? The answer is 2,003 solar panels on the roof of the building, the combined powers of which generate 500 kilowatts of electricity. The solar panels are already installed and the garden is in the process of being built, says Metropolis Farms. The first plants will be planted in November. As per Clean Technica, “Soon, crops of fresh tomatoes, strawberries, lettuce, herbs, and broccoli will flourish there for the benefit of the citizens of Philadelphia and environs. “We feel this inherently demonstrates the wonder of this new industry we’re helping create, the industry of indoor farming.””

Metropolis Farms is revolutionizing the idea of farming with their solar-powered gardens, which they intend to place in abandoned buildings. They say that the vertical gardens demonstrate that it is possible to grow food anywhere, with only a small investment of real estate. The food grown in the city will be consumed by the city. Local-grown food tastes better, and now it’s possible to enjoy that benefit, along with the stimulation of the local economy, even in the midst of the concrete jungle.