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The greenhouse was previously used to grow tomatoes. Now the facility will grow a variety of produce. |
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.
The pipes that sent the steam from Birchwood to the greenhouse are still there and could be used in the operation proposed by Toigo Organic Farms. Additional pipes would be installed to connect the landfill and power plant. By using the steam to heat the greenhouse, Toigo Organic Farms could avoid using 430,000 gallons of heating oil per year, as well as the oil used by the delivery trucks. Steam would be a cheaper way to power the greenhouse.
The grant application states that Toigo could start the project as soon as next month and plant the first crops by the end of this year. When fully operational in a few years, the greenhouse could supply up to 510 tons of organic produce--primarily tomatoes but also strawberries, cucumbers, peppers and spinach--per year to the Mid-Atlantic region. It would create 110 full-time jobs paying average wages of $13 per hour with benefits and create $16 million in annual revenue by its third year in operation.
"The project capitalizes on the skyrocketing interest in renewable energy and in local, organic, safe food," the application states.
Toigo has lined up financing from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Development loan program and First Market Bank (which next week will be merged into Union Bank-shares Corp.). It also has commitments from major retailers, including a national grocer "known for innovation and quality," to buy the produce.
Whole Foods isn't named as that national grocer in the grant application, but the application includes a letter from Whole Foods stating the grocer's interest in investing in the project, possibly providing a line of credit and buying the bulk of the produce grown there.
Representatives from Whole Foods could not be reached for comment. Representatives from Waste Management and the GE affiliate have declined to comment, citing confidentiality agreements.
Mark Toigo said yesterday that he couldn't talk much about the specifics of the project or its timeline. But he said he's confident that the project will occur and he looks forward to doing business in King George.
"It's a great project, and it's moving forward," Toigo said.
Bill Freehling: 540/374-5405
Email: bfreehling@freelancestar.com
Go to fredericksburg.com/blogs/bizbrowser to read the grant application, which provides more specifics on the proposed project and gives additional background on Toigo Organic Farms.
