Indoor hydroponic operations' lighting energy use undercuts their environmental case
Water savings from hydroponics are frequently cited without netting out the electricity cost of indoor grow lighting, which for many crops is a larger environmental cost than the water saved, especially where the local grid isn't low-carbon.
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For
Vertical/indoor hydroponic farms running HPS or even LED grow lights around the clock are genuinely energy-intensive. On a coal- or gas-heavy grid, the emissions from that lighting can swamp whatever's saved on the water side.
Against
This argument mostly applies to fully indoor/vertical operations β greenhouse hydroponics using natural sunlight sidesteps most of the lighting energy cost while keeping the water and pest-control benefits. Lumping all hydroponics together overstates the problem.