My Name is Darryl Bertie and I run a successful electrical business based in Rickmansworth and surrounding areas. We have been in the Electrical industry for 30 years, so we have worked on various projects both small and large however this turned out to be a unique challenge to Bert Electrics.

Hydroponics in Tunnels

Richard Ballard, (who happens to be a close friend of mine), contacted me with an innovative and in my opinion unique idea. He was working on zero carbon food. I asked myself what was this and when he began to explain the concept it was the growing of micro vegetables under an artificial light. His concept was to grow and produce the vegetables in London and then distribute them without the hefty transport costs, therefore giving zero carbon The challenge was to find suitable land big enough to grow vegetables in. What transpired was to use these tunnels. The tunnels are owned by the Transport for London. As far as I am aware they were built for the Northern line which was never completed. They tunnels were used as air raid shelters in World War II where they housed up to 8000 people at one time. As you can imagine the immensity of floor area the tunnels provide. There is a steady flow of air as enormous fans that run twenty four seven. When I went to have a look I was blown away, the whole scene was pretty amazing. As you reach the top of the staircases leading down to the tunnels there is a thirty five metre drop. There are a few steps and it feels quick, the descent into the tunnels takes approximately five minutes, however it takes considerably longer getting back up. There are a few puffs and pants on the way up and a couple of stops to catch our breath! When you get down there, at first it is quite eerie, you can imagine it is pitch black and almost like something out of a Jules Verne novel (Journey to the Centre of The Earth) with no windows and little or no visibility. The only source of light is from our torches until of course using my expert electrical skills I managed to fix a few of the existing lights, so we had some sort of lighting.

Hydroponics in Tunnels

Hydroponics in Tunnels

For somewhere that has been defunct and disused for over sixty years it really is quite cool, but surprisingly dry, with a few damp areas. There are stalactites hanging down from the ceiling which was another amazing sight and added to the whole alien effect. The actual floor area of these tunnels, I would estimate is about the size of three full size football pitches. The way to perceive it is; if you can imagine a tunnel, approximately 7 metres wide and a floor running across half of it. You can stand on the top half, or you can stand on the bottom half. The tunnels are large enough to stand up in and they are all inter-connected and go on for what seems an eternity!

Hydroponics in Tunnels

Hydroponics in Tunnels

Hydroponics in Tunnels

When we started to put some design ideas together bearing in mind of what the the Zero Carbon Food Company intended to do, it soon became apparent that there was actually not enough power for the operation. With the existing electric supply they may have been able to get only half of the project set up, to make the whole lot work, they are going to have to get the Electricity Board in to put in a new sub-main so that they can bring in more electricity to get it to work, certainly a huge project in itself!
Fortunately enough, I have had the privilege of being brought on board with these guys from the very beginning. I have watched this little project grow from an idea (A little acorn) to the set up that they have now (A HUGE Oak Tree). The setting up of the project was by no means a quick, easy and simple job, however I believe anything that is worthwhile doing takes time and a lot of effort. It has taken over six months to get to the stage they are now. I did help them as much as I could with this, but they needed further instruction and collaboration from the plumbers as well as an alarm company of whom I have put them in touch with.

Hydroponics in Tunnels

Hydroponics in Tunnels

The work that we undertook is where all the tables are situated at the current time. The actual lining of the floors and the ceilings are of a fabric that was put up, but ultimately had to be repaired. The lights then had to be secured onto the tables. This is not the finished project and by no means does my story about it end here, it merely illustrates that with a vision and concept of what can be achieved. I know there are bigger and better things to be done, this are just the start of the journey of what is going to be a magnificent project!