Video: A day at the NatureFresh energy department

18,000 tons. This is equivalent to 9,000 cars. Imagine all these cars piled into a landfill. It’s a grim illustration but there is hope. What if you could take 18,000 tons of garbage and turn it into a renewable resource?

That’s exactly what the Energy Department at NatureFresh Farms does. They use approximately 18 000 tons of waste wood per year that would otherwise be destined for a landfill. They burn waste wood because it provides a source of heat to greenhouses during the harsh winter months in Leamington, ON.

After celebrating his first year at NatureFresh Farms in November, Herman Fehr reflected on each department and what they mean to NatureFresh. Now he gives a behind the scenes tour of the entire Energy Department.

The Energy Department consists of 3 team members: Dave, Brian, and Johnny. The 3 of them manage the entire Energy Department. This requires a lot of dedication and teamwork to execute within their small staff. In one day, the 3 wood boilers will burn through 75 tons of waste wood. Dave is the leader of the group. With 10 years of experience under his belt, he is one of our Grow-to-People for anything involving the Energy Department. Brian is Dave’s assistant. He’s been with NatureFresh for a little over a year now and supports Dave in the day to day demands that the Energy Department entails. Lastly, Johnny is the transporter. Johnny has been working in the Energy Department for over 3 years. He trucks in all the waste wood that others are planning to throw away. One man’s trash is the Energy Department’s treasure.

Managing and maintaining production is crucial. Over 60 acres of bell pepper and tomato plants have been planted in the past few weeks with the rest of the planting to be completed by January 16th. Any stoppage in heat production could be disastrous for crop. There’s a lot on the line for the Energy Department but the guys take everything in stride and make sure plants are always comfortable. It’s a small but experienced group.

You might be wondering where all this wood comes from. There’s a variety of different sources. The main sources of wood are old pallets, hardwood flooring and construction waste. Once a source of wood has been located, Johnny is sent out to retrieve it. The wood is brought back to the farm where it’s unloaded and shredded. Once the waste wood is shredded, Brian will load it into a storage room.

The storage room is where the magic happens. The back half of the floor consists of moving plates, which feeds the boilers all the wood that is required. This process is automated through sensors and will generally repeat twice a day if the boilers are running for 24 hours straight.

As important as the wood boilers are, they don’t fulfill the demand for heat across our 130 acres of greenhouses in Canada. In addition to the wood boiler, NatureFresh Farms uses natural gas boilers. Using the latest technology, the natural gas boilers run at 92% efficiency. The only byproducts produced are CO2 and water. Instead of simply releasing the CO2 into the atmosphere, it gets pulled from the boilers and pumped into our greenhouses where it’s absorbed by our plants. With the increased CO2 quantities and the ability to control the environment in our greenhouses, the plants can grow to their full potential.

For more information:
NatureFresh Farms
www.naturefresh.ca