With the system Lauzon has purchased for the operation, there will be what he describes as “tubes of lettuce” growing against LED lights.

“We’re actually growing with a specific wavelength for the lettuce, so we’re not wasting lights. We’re only using the power needed to grow it,” he said, adding that the growing will be done at night to reduce costs.

And just like the vertical farm in Aizuwakamatsu, there will be no soil at Molly’s Vertical Farm.

“(The system) recirculates the water and nutrient solution it grows in — there’s no soil.”

Once Molly’s Vertical Farm is open for business, Lauzon said he plans to grow romaine and Boston lettuce, along with bok choy and pak choy. Should everything operate as planned, he said it would help the city become more self-sustaining.

“If we got cut off from the rest of the world, lettuce would be really expensive. Everything would be really expensive. So, how do we become more self-sufficient and help our community here?” he said.

“I’m born and raised in Guelph, so how do I give back to my community in Guelph? I feel that becoming a new-age farmer is the way to do that.”

However, Lauzon is looking at helping more than just Guelph with his vision for vertical farming — he is also looking north.

“When you think of Canada, you only think of where most of the population is — Ontario, Quebec, that kind of area. We forget about the upper north regions of society, like the Yukon and the Northwest Territories,” he said.

“We have to remember Canada is all of that. We can’t just support ourselves here, so how do we better Canada as a whole? My solution to that is that if I can help Canada here in Guelph … why can’t I replicate that in other places?”

Fresh food is harder to find and therefore typically more expensive in the country’s northern territories.

According to statistics from the government of the Northwest Territories, the average cost for a single head of iceberg lettuce in 2015 was as high as $4.29. The average cost for a kilogram of onions can reach as high as $7.67, while green peppers can go as high as $12.47 per kilogram.

Lauzon said that as long as a few key criteria can be met, Molly’s Vertical Farming’s system can work anywhere.

“This system, we can grow in pretty much any facility, as long as it can stay at a general 24 degrees. As long as we have access to hydro, we can grow year-round,” he said.

“There’s no reason why we can’t go up north, and to expand up there … not enough companies are going up there.”