Vertical Harvest Farms Achieves Significant Financing for Hydroponic Vertical Farm in Maine

Vertical Harvest Farms, known for its innovative employment approaches for people with disabilities, has successfully secured $59.5 million for a new hydroponic vertical farm project in Westbrook, Maine. This facility, sprawling across 51,000 square feet, aims to significantly bolster local food production, with plans to yield approximately 2.5 million pounds of fresh greens annually. This initiative supports the New England Food Vision's goal to locally produce a substantial portion of the region’s food by 2030.

The funding sources for this project include a mixture of USDA loan guarantees and the first-ever Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) loan in Maine, administered by the Efficiency Maine Green Bank. Additionally, the company attracted $19,189,210 from various partners, demonstrating broad support from both public and private sectors. The strategy behind employing public-private partnerships echoes the company's previous success in Wyoming and aims to replicate this financial model in other locations like Detroit, Michigan.

This project not only aims to meet local food needs but also utilizes modern agricultural technologies to ensure sustainable food production and distribution. Importantly, this venture promises to preserve nutritional value by reducing the time from farm to fridge to less than 24 hours, addressing common quality degradations seen in imported produce. Vertical Harvest's focus extends beyond food, as it continues to empower individuals with disabilities, providing meaningful opportunities in emerging tech-driven agricultural fields.