Business Solutions Articles | Low-Carbon Heat Solution For Greenhouse Project


ESB Energy provides low-carbon heat solution for a world-first greenhouse project in the UK




  • ESB Energy designs and delivers the largest low-carbon heat solution for a 29 hectare greenhouse project in the UK
  • Greenhouses will be one of the UK’s and Ireland's largest and most sustainable agricultural greenhouse sites

ESB Energy will provide an innovative energy solution for a world-first £120m greenhouse project, including the installation of the largest installed capacity of heat pumps in the UK.

Business Solutions– a business unit in ESB Energy– has been deployed by Greencoat Capital to design, install and manage the combined heat pump (CHP) plants for what will be the UK’s largest and most sustainable agricultural greenhouse sites in Norfolk and Suffolk.

This project is set to provide the model for decarbonising agriculture and heat, using large scale energy solutions as an alternative to fossil fuel heated glasshouses. Once constructed, the greenhouses will provide ideal growing conditions for a range of plants and vegetables requiring high-heat, and relatively low-light environments such as tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers, over a total of 177km of grower gutters.

Commenting on the innovative project, Ciaran Gallagher, Business Solutions for ESB Energy, said: “Enabling the electrification of heat is a key part of our brighter future strategy and we are committed to ongoing support and investment in this area, such as this exciting project with Greencoat Capital.

Through ESB Energy's management of this greenhouse project, we are providing a viable low-carbon solution to significantly help reduce the emissions from a large-scale project. As with all other large energy users that we work with, this offering allows the greenhouses to reduce its carbon emission footprint."

The two greenhouse sites will cover 29 hectares. The combined heat and power plants will generate electricity for the heat pumps and will also provide supplementary CO2 to accelerate crop growth recapturing a high proportion of carbon created.  All the electricity and heat produced by the CHP units will be utilised on site, making them some of the most efficient units installed in the UK.
The open-loop heat pump solution will transfer heat from the nearby water recycling centre to the greenhouses, with the additional benefit of cooling the facility’s treated water outflow before it is returned to the environment.