Top Plants: Royal Pride Holland Commercial Greenhouse Cogeneration Plant, Middenmeer, North Holland Province, Netherlands

Angela Neville, JD

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Owner/operator: Royal Pride Holland

At Royal Pride Holland’s commercial tomato greenhouse, green thumbs and green energy go hand in hand. With a total energy utilization of 95% in this application, GE’s new Jenbacher J624 natural gas – fired engines offer the innovative greenhouse an economical supply of on-site electrical and thermal power, as well as CO₂ fertilization, to support its operations.

It’s not surprising that the Netherlands — a country famous for its tulips and many other horticultural accomplishments — is home to a state-of-the art commercial greenhouse that is being powered by cogeneration. In September 2008, the Royal Pride Holland facility, located about 50 kilometers north of Amsterdam, and one of the country’s largest commercial tomato greenhouses, began using the world’s first commercial 24-cylinder gas engine technology (Figure 1). Two of GE Energy’s 4-MW natural gas – fueled J624 GS engines began providing the greenhouse with cogeneration, also known as combined heat and power (CHP).

1. Gargantuan greenhouse. The Royal Pride Holland greenhouse covers 45 hectares (approximately 111 acres) of surface area, making it one of the largest facilities in the Netherlands and a major international horticultural production center. Courtesy: Royal Pride Holland

Because waste heat from the engines can be used at very low temperatures and CO₂ captured from the exhaust gas can be used to increase crop productivity, the cogen plant’s overall energy utilization is an impressive 95%, according to Dick Kramp, GE Energy’s marketing program manager for Jenbacher engine greenhouse applications in the Netherlands. Since installing the new engines, Royal Pride Holland has reduced its production costs at the greenhouse by 20% (Figure 2).

2. Harvesting higher profits. Prady Iyyanki, CEO of GE Energy’s Jenbacher gas engine division (left), and Frank van Kleef, director of Royal Pride Holland, stand in front of the Jenbacher combined heat and power system. Since installing the new engines, Royal Pride Holland has reduced its production costs at the greenhouse by 20%. Courtesy: Royal Pride Holland