How can you return the land to the environment when you still consume the same amount of energy (or more because LEDs arent 100% efficient)? During farming most of the energy comes from the sun. Vertical farms consume more land the denser they are. All that freed up land has to be filled with solar panels or wind turbines. Considering that plants are basically collecting solar energy for free that's a huge step backwards.
I suppose it's like I said: it depends on how you get that energy. Geothermal, nuclear are options, as are coastal wind farms (minimal environmental impact once up). Solar, Yes, I hear you.
