Great Northern Hydroponics Nears Completion of Environmentally Sensitive Energy Facility
The fruits of Great Northern Hydroponics’labor are both red and green.
The 50- acre tomato greenhouse in southern Ontario is nearing
completion of a Tri-Generation Energy Facility that will remove 20
tons of carbon dioxide a year out of the earth’s atmosphere while
producing 12 megawatts of electricity. The project is expected to
be completed by December 2007.
The $20 million facility, owned by Great Northern’s mother company Soave Hydroponics, will sell the electricity produced to the Ontario government to power 5,000 residential homes in the local area. Great Northern’s President Darrin Didychuk notes that the facility is the first of its kind in North America. “With this project, Soave Hydroponics is leading the greenhouse industry by identifying and investing in innovative technology that benefits our environment.”
Didychuk recently hosted Ontario’s Energy Minister Dwight Duncan and Essex’s Member of Provincial Parliament Bruce Crozier as the officials toured the facility’s construction. “Mr. Duncan is interested in having even greater amounts of energy produced by tri-generation facilities, specifically another 200 to 300 megawatts of power, which is equal to half a nuclear power plant,”details Didychuk. “It is truly the way of the future.”
“Numerous other greenhouses have contacted us regarding this emerging technology. As an early adopter, we are proud to be in a position to help propagate an environmentally sustainable project,”Didychuk adds.
Tri-generation technology has been employed by European greenhouses for years. Creating electricity from natural gas produces substantial amounts of thermal energy, as well as carbon dioxide exhaust emissions. This thermal energy, in the form of hot water, is supplied to heat the greenhouses. Additionally, the power plants use the latest in environmental technology to clean the exhaust emissions and extract carbon dioxide. Because carbon dioxide is a key component of photosynthesis, the energy facilities also provide the greenhouse with this necessary “fertilizer” for the greenhouse’s crop.
Team Soave Walkers Topple Fundraising Goals for ADA and Breast Cancer Awareness Month
Team Soave has been hard at work this fall. The metro Detroit group hiked their way around the Detroit Zoo on October 13 and raised almost $5,000 – nearly doubling their pre-walk projection for the annual walk, “Step Out to Fight Diabetes” from the American Diabetes Association.
During the same October weekend, 40 Checker Sedan walkers raised $1,200 for the American Cancer Society’s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer event. Gathering at Detroit’s Belle Isle Park, the “Checker Striders” joined more than 8,000 other participants to fund life-saving breast cancer research, education and local patient services.
By joining together, Soave employees and their families are truly making a difference in their communities. If you have a future event idea for Team Soave, please contact Kristan Williams in the Corporate HR Department at 313 567-0125 ext. 472.
For more Team Soave stories and photos please visit www.soave.com/about/community.
Team Soave members Joe Angelari, Penni Schimmel,
Diane Hansen and Tim McKay.
