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GE and its customer Houweling’s Tomatoes, a leading North American greenhouse grower, unveiled Aug. 22, the first combined heat and power (CHP) greenhouse project in America that captures carbon dioxide for use in plant fertilization. Using two of GE’s 4.36-megawatt (MW), ecomagination-qualified Jenbacher J624 two-staged turbocharged natural gas engines and a GE-designed carbon dioxide fertilization system, the plant provides heat, power and carbon dioxide to Houweling’s 125-acre tomato greenhouse in Camarillo, Calif.
The first greenhouse CHP project in the U.S. also gives an added boost to California’s goal to generate 6,500 MW of new CHP generation in the state by 2020. The project represents the launch of GE’s J624 two-staged turbocharged gas engines for the 60 Hz segment and the first of these engines sold in the U.S. Introduced by GE in 2007, the J624 is the world’s first 24-cylinder gas engine for commercial power generation and can be used in various applications. It also is the first gas engine featuring double turbocharging, which makes it even more efficient.
Today’s announcement supports Houweling’s position in the agriculture industry and state of California as a forward-thinking, innovative business. Late last year, California Gov. Edmund G. “Jerry” Brown honored Houweling’s with a 2011 Governor’s Environmental and Economic Leadership Award for developing environmentally friendly practices while contributing to the local economy.
To read the full press release, click here. To watch a webcast of the press event at Houweling’s, click here.
To learn more about GE and Houweling’s Tomatoes, visit their websites at www.ge.com and www.houwelings.com, respectively.