Denhaan's goes green, everybody wins

By Heather Killen

Spectator

NovaNewsNow.com

Denhaan’s operation in Lawrencetown is giving a new meaning to green tomatoes.

Luke Denhaan, operational manager, said a new biomass heating system installed two years ago at the Fitch Rd. greenhouse is not just paying for itself, but is paying dividends to the local economy, and the environment. "We were spending about $560,000 on propane and #2 oil, in just this location," he said. "That’s a lot of tomatoes."

The operation employs between 25 and 50 people throughout the year, and produces nearly two million pounds of tomatoes that are sold throughout Atlantic Canada.

With oil prices so unstable, it was no longer feasible to continue heating the operation using fossil fuels. Denhaan said that the new state of the art biomass system guarantees the facility’s future. "It came down to shut the doors, or invest in green energy," he said. "With the old system we were using about 65,000 to 100,000 litres of propane, it’s dropped to about 4,000."

Denhaan said before they made the move to the wood burning system, they compared several alternative energy heating systems, and looked at what was working well in Holland greenhouses.

The $750,000 biomass system, shipped from Ontario, promised a cheaper and more readily available fuel alternative. "It burns about 3000 cord a year," he said. "We buy waste wood from local people, and then run the logs through a chipper."

They investigated the possibility of using geothermal energy, but found that the high cost of installing the system prohibitive.

Some greenhouses in Holland rely on this type of energy, which uses deep pipes to draw energy form the earth. He added that eventually they might shift to this type of energy in the future.

Solar power is still too experimental, and frequently uses a special type of paint that would likely reduce the amount of sunlight to the tomato plants.

The woodburning system was completely installed within four months. A computer controls the system and precisely monitors the temperature. "Normally you’d need four to five technicians to run the boiler, but there’s no need with this system," said Denhaan. "It’s a very safe system to operate."

He added that they’ve already saved about 45 per cent in heating costs since it was installed in March 2005. And because it’s a clean burning system, the environment benefits. "We’re ahead of the game," he said. "We’ll be eligible for green credits in the foreseeable future."