Greening the greenhouses
About this good practice
VVT Engineering works with the local administrations from South-West region of Bulgaria on the development of targeted RES policies which aim to stimulate the use of local, renewable, and sustainable energy sources as a key element of an increasing competitiveness of the local economy. Participating as a stakeholder of the Local Action Group Petrich (LAG – Petrich), VVT Engineering initiated an APV demonstration project at a local tomato greenhouse.
The greenhouse sector plays a vital role in Bulgaria’s agricultural industry, particularly in the production of vegetables, flowers, and other horticultural products. The main regions for greenhouse farming include Plovdiv, Pazardzhik, Stara Zagora, Blagoevgrad, and other regions where climate and soil are conducive. To green production processes and improve local competitiveness of Bulgarian agri- producers, policies are targeting at a larger deployment of RES-technologies into the sector, and integration of RES such as solar panels to power greenhouses.
The main objective of this initiative was to guarantee the reduction of energy costs, autonomy and independence of external power supply. A Schletter system for tin roofs was used. The plant consists of 66 Bauer Solar PV modules with a power of 450W and 3 pcs.
The construction of the plant took 4 working days. All necessary declarations and quality certificates were issued for the purpose of commissioning. Main beneficiary is the greenhouse.
Resources needed
The total cost of the plant was about EUR 35,000. It is funded entirely by private resources of the greenhouse company. The entire construction of the plant took only 4 working days, but planning, administrative procedures, and commissioning took more than 4 months.
Evidence of success
The greenhouse needs energy and mainly power for its operation. This PV plant brings autonomy and independence from external electricity suppliers, and produces energy with zero CO2 emissions. It produces around 15,000 kWh of electricity per year, reducing the energy costs by EUR 3,800 / year, and around 7 tons of CO2 emissions of annual savings. In a long-term period, it also reduces the production cost which increases the competitiveness of the farm. A demonstration project.
Potential for learning or transfer
The practice is relevant to rural and agricultural regions with a well-developed greenhouse production. Since greenhouse sector is vital for the Bulgaria’s agricultural industry, with many regions which are developing this particular sector, the country needs targeted and consistent policies to foster the larger deployment of RES-systems into the greenhouse sector. The role of LAGs (local action groups) can be vital in that process by connecting stakeholders from different sectors, private and public. APVs on greenhouses will lead to minimizing not only the production costs, but also the CO2 emissions, because energy is produced by a PV plant, which has long production life span. In the case of the given practice, the beneficiary has a 10-year warranty period.
Further information
Good practice owner
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