The heat is on at the greenhouses of Chatham based Truly Green. Yesterday, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada announced that is has invested $3.7 million for both tomato grower Truly Green and ethanol producer Greenfield to “collaboratively reduce their environmental footprint, while making their operations more productive and competitive.”
“The environment and the economy go hand in hand,” says Peter Fragiskatos, member of Parliament for London North Centre. “And our government knows that supporting sustainable solutions in agriculture will spur clean innovation, create jobs, and lead to a stronger agricultural sector. This project is a great example of two Chatham companies working together to improve greenhouse yields, while lowering their environmental footprint.”
The investment will enable Greenfield to install new Dutch technology that pipes both waste heat and carbon-dioxide across the road to the 45 acres of Truly Green. This has been the aim of the project since they broke ground for their first phase of greenhouses a couple of years ago, but some challenging technology was required to accomplish their mission. In the first years, Truly Green only could use the CO2 from the adjacent ethanol plant.
“Sustainable agriculture improves the food we eat, the air we breathe, and the jobs in our communities. Truly Green has developed an innovative partnership with Greenfield to use waste heat from its ethanol process to boost the production of our greenhouse tomatoes,” says Greg Devries, president of Truly Green Farms & Cedarline Greenhouses.
“This investment is helping us become the first greenhouse of its kind to be warmed by waste heat. It will also make us one of the most energy-efficient greenhouses in North America.”