Philips Lighting of the Netherlands reported that it would supply LED grow lights for LLC Agro-Invest, a Russian greenhouse produce company. The LED grow lights will support the cultivation of tomatoes and cucumbers in greenhouses. The greenhouses cover an area of more than 25 hectares (equivalent in size to about 40 soccer pitches).
According to Philips Lighting, the project, which is the largest LED horticultural lighting project ever undertaken, will enable year-round growing and help boost yields, especially in the winter. The company says that the LED grow lights will save about 50 percent on energy costs compared to conventional high-pressure sodium lighting.
Agrolux to Work with Philips Lighting
Dutch partner Agrolux, a supplier of horticultural lighting, is working with Philips Lighting and Russian installer, LLC ST Solutions, which will outfit greenhouses in Lyudinovo, Kaluga Oblast, 350 km southwest of Moscow with LED grow lights during the next three months.
Philips Lighting says it will supply 65,000 1.25m long Philips GreenPower LED toplights and 57,000 2.5m long Philips GreenPower LED interlights. The company also plans to provide ‘light recipes’ optimized for growing cucumbers and tomatoes along with training services. Laid end to end, the LED grow lights would stretch 223 km.
“We have a reputation for innovation on a large scale and LED grow lights are definitely the future. They deliver the right light for the plant, exactly when and where the plant needs it the most while radiating far less heat than conventional lighting. This allows us to place them closer to the plants,” said Irina Meshkova, Deputy CEO and General Director, Agro-Invest. “Thanks to this technology we will be able to increase yields in the darker months of the year, and significantly reduce our energy usage,” she added.
“This LED horticultural project is the largest in the world. It will reduce the electricity consumed to light the crop by up to 50 percent compared with conventional horticultural lighting and uses light recipes designed to boost quality and crop yields by up to 30 percent in the dark period of the winter,” said Udo van Slooten, business leader for Philips Lighting’s horticultural lighting business. “Our grow lights are the perfect supplement to natural daylight so that crops can be grown efficiently throughout the year. The project also highlights a growing international trend to replace imports with domestically grown produce, reducing food miles and ensuring freshness,” he added.
