EnerGrow

EnerGrow plans to establish all-year round strawberry production facilities. Two locations, in the Central Belt and North of Scotland, are currently being technically scoped for development. The EnerGrow business model is based on the ability to grow Class 1, premium quality strawberries, throughout the year in a controlled environment using leadin... g edge technologies. Producing strawberries in this manner will deliver significant competitive advantage, particularly through the ability to supply UK grown produce during the traditional off-season period. The increasing consumer demand for strawberries over the winter period is currently met by importing produce from Morocco, Egypt, Israel and Spain. Although strawberries have been selected as the initial product EnerGrow considers these sites as the first of several developments, with other potential products, such as tomatoes, salad leaves and herbs, also being of interest. Strawberries will be grown in a closely controlled glasshouse environment using a blend of natural daylight and LED lighting, together with climate management (heat and cooling) and an enhanced CO 2 supply. LED lighting is already used in many existing glasshouses to extend the growing season with well proven results; the proposed EnerGrow facilities are an extension to this approach. Direct control of lighting levels throughout the growing cycle delivers the optimum conditions for producing strawberries of a consistent, high quality and at high production levels. The facilities will be split into separate growing zones allowing each to be planted at a separate time, ensuring that over a complete yearly cycle strawberries will be available to harvest every day of the year. The LED lighting scheme has been designed, using simulation software, to deliver the recommend Photosynthetic Photon Flux Density for growing strawberries and achieve the required Daily Light Integral by switching on the lights in each growing zone as required. EnerGrow will utilise the best available technologies across ...Read More