Eco-Friendly Fence Hub

If you’re moving to a new neighborhood, it helps to have good neighbors. A group of mainly Dutch investors have invested some €11m to build two massive greenhouses on an area as big as four soccer fields in Osterweddingen, Saxony-Anhalt, which will grow tomatoes and bell peppers year-round for mostly regional consumers.

The eco-friendly facility, which launched operations this summer and will create 50 new jobs, conveniently sits next to a glass factory, from where it got its greenhouse glass panels, thereby cutting down on transport costs. It will also use the factory’s waste heat and rainwater run-off, saving the growing operation up to €1m each year.

There are already plans to expand the facility in 2018, and the investors are considering constructing an on-site combined heat and power station, and using waste CO2 to make fertilizer.