A new 100-acre greenhouse expansion in Ontario is to use a CHP installation. Capstone Green Energy Corporation announced that its North American distributor, Vergent Power Solutions, has signed an agreement to provide an energy-efficient, low emission, one-megawatt Combined Heat and Power (CHP) microturbine for a large greenhouse expansion in Ontario, Canada.
"As Ontario's greenhouse industry has continued to expand, its power requirements have outpaced the capabilities of the local electric utilities. This has resulted in many greenhouses going off-grid and using CHP as the primary source of energy for their operations," said Justin Rathke, President of Vergent Power Solutions. "The customer chose Capstone due to the technology's high uptime, low maintenance requirements, redundant bay design, and clean emissions," added Mr. Rathke.
Off-grid
Fueled by high-pressure clean-burning natural gas, the new off-grid system featuring Capstone's C1000S will provide 24/7/365 power to the farm's 100-acre indoor greenhouse expansion, an operation that requires a high degree of uptime and low maintenance. The design will feature inverter-based electronics to synchronize with a solar photovoltaic (PV) array in a standalone microgrid. Capstone microturbines should allow the site to have virtually 100% availability, resulting in seamless greenhouse operations. Further, the system will be designed to use the microturbines' waste heat to both produce hot water and to provide clean carbon dioxide to the greenhouse. The system is planned for commissioning in spring 2022 and is expected to achieve a total system energy efficiency of close to 90%.
"Modern farming practices are evolving in exciting new ways, and their energy strategies need to evolve with them," said Darren Jamison, President and Chief Executive Officer of Capstone Green Energy. "Capstone solutions deliver essential power reliability and energy efficiency that indoor farming operations require, which, in turn, improves their return on investment. At the same time, our systems lower their carbon footprint, which is critically important for an industry dependent on a healthy environment," concluded Mr. Jamison.
For more information:
Capstone Green Energy
www.capstonegreenenergy.com