220-Acre Greenhouse Planned in Britain

A greenhouse the size of 80 football fields is currently under construction in Kent. It will measure 140 meters long, and take up 220 acres. That’s one big ass greenhouse. Operated by Fresca Group Ltd, the greenhouse will have all the latest technologies and will be controlled by computers. The greenhouse has been named ‘Thanet Earth’, named for the Isle of Thanet on which it’s located, and will grow salad produce such as tomatoes, lettuce, peppers and cucumbers which will be harvested 52 weeks a year.

From The Telegraph:

Operators Fresca Group Ltd., say it will increase by 15 per cent the UK’s crop of salad vegetables most of which currently have to be imported.

It will have its own power generating plants to heat the cavernous greenhouses and the eco-friendly combined heat and power system will as a by-product provide enough electricity to supply half the domestic power needs of 50,000 homes in north-east Kent near to where the £80m complex is being built on the Isle of Thanet.

The greenhouses have been designed so crops can be grown suspended from the 8m-high ceilings so they are easier to pick and they will be grown in nutrient enriched water rather than soil.

Greenhouses of this size are fairly common in Europe, but this is the first time it’s been attempted in Britain. Kent was chosen as the site because it gets so much sunlight throughout the year. The greenhouse will have its own eco-friendly heat and power system that will produce enough energy to supply half the domestic power needs of 50,000 homes in the area.

Link [The Telegraph]