GE Current Donates Lighting to The Ohio State University

CLEVELAND — GE Current, a Daintree company has gifted 272 horticultural lighting fixtures to The Ohio State University to benefit the university’s College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences.

The Arize Element L1000 LED fixtures will illuminate a state-of-the-art greenhouse being built within the new Controlled Environment Food Production Research Complex. The greenhouse was made possible with funding from Nationwide Insurance, as well as support from other Ohio-based companies.

“We are excited to be deepening our relationship with OSU,” said Melissa Wesorick, Chief Product and Strategy Officer at Current. “This is a great opportunity to strengthen our ties with this historic institution and the Ohio community, as well as inspire and empower the next generation of growers.”

With construction slated to begin in 2021, the production greenhouse will provide hands-on training opportunities for students to learn how to grow various crops in a greenhouse setting. The multiple tailored light spectrums offered by the Arize Element L1000 opens the door for unique research and scientific exploration into crop production and plant growth, as well as expand upon the understanding of how LEDs can further that growth. The facility will also serve as the location for future grower conferences and workshops.

“Lighting is a key technology of controlled environment agriculture,” said Chieri Kubota, professor in Ohio State’s Department of Horticulture and Crop Science and lead researcher at the new greenhouse facility. “We are excited about potential research outcomes that will advance the science and technology of growing in these environments. We greatly appreciate Current’s generous and important gift to help make this happen.”

Kubota’s work encompasses plant physiology and horticulture engineering to enhance the understanding and efficiency of controlled environment agriculture production systems such as greenhouses, warehouses (vertical farms) and growth chambers.

Ohio State University’s College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Science offers science-based instruction and solutions in both the classroom (to over 3,200 undergraduate and 500 graduate students) and in Ohio’s 88 counties through OSU Extension. Learn more at cfaes.osu.edu.