After the reveal of its 8.8 megawatt Combined Heat and Power (CHP) onsite energy project in August 2012, Houweling’s Tomatoes has increased its onsite power generation capacity to 13.2 megawatts. Houweling’s is now the first CHP installation to meet the requirements for participation in California Assembly Bill 1613, according to a press release. This project ultimately increases the company’s ability to provide year-round local produce in southern California.
AB 1613, or the 2007 Waste Heat and Carbon Emissions Reduction Act, operates under strict criteria designed to reduce waste energy, meet a minimum efficiency of 60%, and reach NOx emissions of no more than 0.07 pounds per megawatt-hour. It provides qualifying projects a favorable Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with the state utilities.
“While it hasn’t been easy, today we are operating a 13.2MW installation that significantly reduces our environmental impact, while increasing our ability to grow and harvest year-round, locally grown, California tomatoes,” said Casey Houweling, CEO. Not only does Houweling’s produce electrical energy, they are uniquely suited for CHP as waste heat is captured and utilized for heating the greenhouse at night, while CO2 exhaust is captured and utilized for plant fertilization.
Houweling would like to thank the team at Houweling’s and its partners on this project including Southern California Edison, Western Energy, GE Distributed Power, and Southern California Gas.
Congratulations on this recent accomplishment, Houweling’s!
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Houweling's
Houweling’s is a world-renowned greenhouse tomato grower with facilities in Camarillo, CA; Mona, UT; and Delta, BC.
