Something special is happening in Southern California. Bluehouse Greenhouse (BHGH), an Ag-Tech company that focuses on the development and operation of commercial-scale, high-tech greenhouses, and energy centers, is establishing a project that will provide high-quality produce from a highly efficient and sustainable greenhouse facility.
A vital point of the new 2.8 million square feet high-tech glass greenhouse is the on-site 13.2 MW quad-generation Energy Center, providing electricity, hot and chilled water, and CO2. The company formed a strategic partnership with Endurant Energy to realize this center.
"The BHGH flagship facility will produce more than 50 million pounds annually of clean, safe, and traceable fruits and vegetables for local and regional markets, powered by low-cost sustainable energy driving our commitment to an ESG program," the company explains.
Climate
"California does not have the climate to grow many commonly consumed vegetables outdoors. Consequently, the state relies heavily on imports, which generates a large carbon footprint," the initiators add. "BHGH is changing this. Not only will we reduce this footprint by supplying markets locally, thereby significantly reducing carbon emissions related to transport, but we are also going the extra mile and have partnered with a number of specialists in sustainable agriculture."
For starters, the new 2.8 million square feet facility, will benefit from a quad generation (Quadgen) energy facility by Endurant Energy, which will provide all of the electricity, as well as the hot and cold water and the CO2 that will be consumed by the facility. Bluehouse Greenhouse has formed a strategic partnership with Endurant to do so. Together they form Bluehouse Energy (“BHE”). As part of the partnership, Endurant will invest up to $30 in the new power plant.
Endurant investment
"Endurant’s investment in an on-site EC is part of a multi-lateral strategic partnership to reduce and stabilize energy costs to support BHGH's ESG strategy in its facilities. Further, by using typically wasted byproducts of power generation such as heat, water, and CO2 the EC’s efficiency increases from an average of 50% to over 95% putting the EC into a leading sustainability position," the company explains. "The closed-loop ecosystem will accelerate crop growth and improve quality while simultaneously minimizing the facility’s overall carbon footprint."
The Quadgen plant will be built utilizing integrated ECOMAX units supplied by AB Energy USA. The master-planned sustainable Food + Energy ecosystem is set to break ground in Winter 2021 and will be in production in Fall 2022.
Designing, planning and integrating
Design firm ALPS, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Larssen Greenhouse Consulting, is overseeing the master planning, design and integration of the facility’s numerous sophisticated control and automation systems. ALPS focuses on the development of high-profile projects in Controlled Environment Agriculture with an exemplary track record spanning over three decades and well over 100 million square feet of greenhouse projects built across the world.
Energy of vital importance for CEA
Tom Chadwick, CEO of Endurant, is very excited about the partnership with BHGH and their participation in the expanding Agriculture Tech sector. "With Endurant we understand the importance of reliable, affordable, and efficient energy generation to CEA. We have seen an increase in demand for local food, produced in a cleaner, more sustainable, and safer way. Our strategic partnership will support BHGH to provide exactly that.” Chadwick added, “We are proud to have been selected by BHGH to be their energy infrastructure partner of choice."
"The innovative energy solution developed and funded by Endurant allows BHGH to focus on their core business with a trusted partner as their long-term energy provider. We look forward to working alongside BHGH as they execute on their growth strategy to expand their operations across the U.S.”
Low-cost energy solutions
Ari Kashani, Founder and CEO of BHGH, commented that Endurant will be a key strategic partner for the Bluehouse Family as they leverage their low-cost, highly curated energy solutions for their greenhouse developments across the nation.
"Endurant’s experienced team and strong execution track record in developing sustainable, off-grid energy solutions was key in developing the long-term partnership. Through Endurant’s expertise, we will drive our ESG strategy with stable energy costs and reduce our carbon footprint significantly. This marks the beginning of an exciting partnership between Endurant and BHGH as we execute on our vision to build secure and self-sufficient ecosystems across the nation and move a large part of the agriculture industry to controlled environments.”