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Whole Foods may join greenhouse
More details on proposed King George County greenhouse projectDate published: 1/22/2010 BY BILL FREEHLING Whole Foods Market is considering an investment in a proposed greenhouse operation in King George County, and the grocer could end up buying many of the organic fruits and vegetables grown at the now-unused facility. That's according to a grant application that Toigo Organic Farms submitted Nov. 13 to Virginia's Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy. The Pennsylvania-based company is considering buying a 45-acre greenhouse complex near the Birchwood power plant and King George landfill off State Route 3. The greenhouse would be powered by steam piped into the facility from the nearby landfill. Waste Management is building a $12.4 million power plant at the landfill to turn trash into energy that would be sold. Toigo Organic Farms is proposing to install a generator that would capture the heat from the exhaust of the turbines, which are powered by the landfill's naturally occurring methane gas. That would create a productive use for the exhaust. Earlier this month, outgoing Gov. Tim Kaine's office announced that Toigo's application had been approved for a $1 million grant through the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. It was one of 15 biomass and waste-to-energy grants awarded in Virginia. The application, which was submitted by Toigo Organic Farms Director Mark Toigo, states that the $19.1 million project needs the $1 million grant to be possible. In addition to the $6.6 million heat recovery steam generator, project costs would include buying and upgrading the greenhouse. The greenhouse, which is now owned by an affiliate of GE Energy Financial Services, would otherwise be demolished, according to the grant application. In early 2007, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ended a requirement that had forced the Birchwood plant to provide steam to the greenhouse complex, where Colorado-based Sun Valley Farms had grown more than 10 million pounds of hydroponic tomatoes a year. The greenhouse was shut down that year.
Date published: 1/22/2010
you'd just think a local business with co-gen waste heat verses propane heat
(posted by
larryg
, Jan. 23, 2010 5:30 pm)
would have lower operating costs that a Canadian
operation or even a Mexican operation that had to pay
transportation costs to Virginia.
I never heard why the previous operation went away. In
fact, I thought they were still operating... as I must have
missed news of their closing.
I don't know the details...
(posted by
Guderian
, Jan. 23, 2010 9:35 am)
but generally if a business is not profitable it disappears. Just an fYI,...incredibly in most landfills they just vent the methane while paying dearly for electricity..
tomatos From Canada
(posted by
larryg
, Jan. 23, 2010 8:48 am)
yes... but we USED to be able to get those tomatoes from
the King George facility until it closed down and I was
wondering if the product is in demand why a facility closer
to the market would close down?
I LIKE the idea of using the waste heat but it appears also
that the company was required to provide it in their original
permit and then when the tomato operation closed, there
was an attempt to remove the requirement from the permit.
I'm just curious why the tomato operation went away
mainly.
The hydroponic tomatoes available locally
(posted by
Guderian
, Jan. 22, 2010 1:14 pm)
come from Canada, where there are numerous
operations like the one in this story.
Those tomatoes are tasty and have all the
nutrients of a soil grown tomato.
This is a great addition to the local business
community.
The hydroponic tomatoes available locally
(posted by
Guderian
, Jan. 22, 2010 1:13 pm)
come from Canada, where there are numerous
operations like the one in this story.
Those tomatoes are tasty and have all the
nutrients of a soil grown tomato.
This is a great addition to the local business
community.
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