Luke den Haan saw the light. Literally. While on a trade mission to Holland sponsored by the province two years ago, the CEO and co-owner of den Haan Greenhouses in Lawrencetown witnessed first-hand what state-of-the-art LED lights controlled by computer software was doing to save energy costs while increasing crop yields in commercial greenhouse growing operations.
“Having the opportunity to go on that trade mission opened my eyes to new technology,” den Haan said during a recent interview. “I instantly saw the future. And I saw that that technology and that process would work in my business.”
It certainly has worked, according to den Haan. After a year of planning and arranging financing, along with nine months of construction and engineering occasionally delayed by COVID-19 travel restrictions, den Haan’s has had 31,000 square metres of beefsteak tomatoes and long English cucumbers under high-tech lights since October.