PHOENIX — A Phoenix-based clean tech startup is planning a series of expansions that will create jobs and fuel the company’s growth in Arizona’s produce market.
Homer Farms Inc. is breaking ground in the coming weeks on a new solar-powered vertical farm on a 1-acre site near 27th and Northern avenues in Phoenix.Email us: share@abc15.comThe company signed a three-year lease with the city of Phoenix for the land with an option for a two-year extension. The vertical farm is partially funded via $600,000 in grants from the City of Phoenix Office of Environmental Programs, Salt River Project and Arizona State University.
“This new vertical farm will achieve energy independence using a micro-grid in collaboration with SRP and ASU, and Homer Farms has committed to donate at least 20% of its production from this farm to local communities via the City of Phoenix Office of Environmental Programs to mitigate food deserts in the city,” Zhihao Chen, cofounder and CEO of Homer Farms, told AZ Inno.