Development of a novel model to assess the land sparing potential of vertical farming for bioenergy crops

This model has investigated the potential of using vertical farming (VF) systems to spare land for planting dedicated biomass crops for bioenergy in the UK and Spain (Miscanthus and SRC Willow). Using the DND-C model, spared land has been modelled to understand the potential yields we may see from areas where lettuce crops have previously been cultivated in the field, in both the UK and Spain, for consumption by the UK market. This poster presents the methodological developments of the model, with land use savings of 8536 ha (~0.0005% of current arable land in the UK and Spain) found so far. Further improvements to the model will occur, expanding the scope to absorb more regions, and more food crops to understand the land sparing potential of VF.