The ‘Greenhouse as Energy Source’ Platform

Climate-neutral growing
Recently, the Greenhouse as Energy Source Platform has further detailed and enhanced this ambition for 2020. As from 2020, the greenhouse horticulture sector intends to practice climate-neutral growing in newly constructed greenhouses, strongly reduce the use of fossil fuels and make the greenhouses suppliers of renewable heat and renewable electricity.

The sector is working on a substantial number of innovative projects, under the name of Greenhouse as Energy Source Programme. Seven transition routes have been identified along which the objectives are to be achieved. These are:

• Solar energy – the greenhouse as solar collector, with solar heat being stored in summer and used in winter. In winter, cold is stored that is used in summer for cooling. Studies are under way to see if surplus thermal radiation from the sun on the greenhouse cover can be converted into electricity;
• geothermal energy – use of geothermal energy can potentially reduce the use of natural gas by 10%;
• biofuels – use of biofuels in combination with energy-efficient cogeneration will contribute substantially to fulfilling the ambition of 2020;
• growing strategies and low-energy varieties - if the crop environment can be adjusted better to the outside temperature, less energy will be required;
• light – maximum utilisation of natural light and more energy-efficient lamps for growing light;
• renewable electricity – an important aspect due to the increase in lighting of crops;
• reuse of CO2 – greenhouse horticulture uses CO2 for crop growth. Part of the CO2 requirement is received as a by-product from the manufacturing industry.  

Organisation
Since July 2007, the Greenhouse as Energy Source Programme has its own Platform within the national Energy Transition Project, initiated by the Ministry of Economic Affairs. 
The chairman of the Greenhouse as Energy Source Platform, Dirk Duijzer, is also a member of the Steering Committee for Energy Transition.
The Greenhouse as Energy Source Platform is composed as follows: the Horticultural Commodity Board, LTO Glaskracht Nederland (the association of entrepreneurs in the sector), the ministries of Agriculture (LNV), Economic Affairs (EZ) and Environment (VROM), Wageningen UR, VGB (the association of wholesale traders in horticultural products), Gasunie, Stichting Natuur en Milieu (a conservationist organisation), and Priva as representative from the horticultural supply chain. The Platform stimulates research on renewable energy in greenhouse horticulture and supports innovative developments in horticultural practice. LTO Glaskracht Nederland (the entrepreneurs), the Horticultural Commodity Board and the Ministry of Agriculture are the initiators, promoters and financiers of this.

Read more on www.kasalsenergiebron.nl and in the Annual Plan for 2007 (in Dutch) about the Greenhouse as Energy Source Programme.

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