Jenbacher JM620 Gas Engines Bumper Crops from Cogeneration

Great Northern Hydroponics began a search for an alternative power source for its 55-acre tomato greenhouse in Kingsville, Ontario, six years ago. Due to changes in the greenhouse industry’s economics, as well as rising fossil fuel prices, Great Northern saw the need for a cost-effective and cleaner power source for long-term, optimized energy generation.

After considering alternatives such as coal and biomass, Great Northern opted for a cogeneration solution and selected a GE Jenbacher system that includes a CO₂ fertilization option for greenhouses. Great Northern’s decision coincided with an initiative by the Ontario Power Authority (OPA) to expand the local grid with 1,000 MW of cogeneration power. With GE’s help, Great Northern prepared an application to OPA for its cogeneration project—and won approval.

The 12-MW power plant, with four Jenbacher JM620 units, began operation in July 2009, and was GE’s first North American greenhouse cogeneration installation. The plant is expected to cut Great Northern’s greenhouse energy costs by at least 50 percent over a 20-year period and divert 15,000 tons of CO₂ away from the atmosphere and into crop fertilization. It also will supply enough surplus power to the grid to light 12,000–15,000 Canadian homes each year. Last year it was also used to provide cooling to the warehouse at the site.

Soave Hydroponics – GE Jenbacher CHP Project‬

As a combined heat and power (CHP) plant, the Great Northern facility uses less fuel with the same power output compared to traditional greenhouses. This can lower regional industrial emissions from energy production. Jenbacher greenhouse CHP plants have efficiency levels of up to 95 percent.

The GE solution was ideal for Great Northern. Greenhouse plants thrive in a CO₂-enriched atmosphere. Jenbacher cogeneration systems create electricity for lighting that helps plants absorb CO₂. GE’s advanced environmental technology uses special catalytic converters to purify the engine exhaust gas, and then the exhaust CO₂ is recycled as fertilizer. The result is a bumper crop.