Whole Leaf Greenhouse
Co-Generation
Signalta partnered with Whole Leaf Ltd. to construct and operate a state of the art greenhouse and co-generation facility located just outside the rural community of Coaldale, Alberta. We designed, constructed and now operate the natural gas fired facility that provides the Whole Leaf greenhouse with electricity, heat and CO2. In order to create greater efficiencies, the facility also supplies the Alberta Interconnected Electric System (AIES) with electricity during periods of high electical demand.
The generation facility is equipped with best-in-class lean burn reciprocating engines (a higher standard of engine technology) to convert sweet natural gas to electricity. The produced electricity supplies power to completely cover the greenhouse’s load demand. Waste heat created by the generator engines is captured and used to maintain the temperature of the greenhouse, reducing the need for the greenhouse to generate heat independently.
Exhaust gases from the generator engines are scrubbed using a leading edge European patented selective catalytic reduction technology, COdiNOx™. This enables the emitted CO2 to be used by the greenhouse to accelerate plant growth rather than being released to atmosphere. This unique facility results in a significantly reduced carbon footprint compared to a standalone greenhouse and power generation operation.
Signalta activly manages the cogeneration facility, monitoring grid circumstances and opportunities to maximize economics, while ensuring the overall seamless integration of the systems and maintenance of the machines. Whole Leaf owns and operates the greenhouse. The greenhouse is a dedicated green-producer of lettuce, using no pesticides and consuming up to 90 per cent less water than field-grown lettuce.
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