Chile:

Chile Launches Geothermal Greenhouse Project (Fresh Fruit Portal)

(Courtesy Fundación para la Innovación Agraria)

Chile’s Agricultural Innovation Foundation (FIA) has provided CLP55.5 million (US$98,088) for a pilot project to test the use of geothermal energy to control greenhouse temperatures, with positive results observed to date.

The initiative in Lampa, north-west of Santiago, the capital of Chile, is the first of its kind in the South American country, and was developed by agricultural businessman Sergio Aguilar.

Initiative coordinator Abdo Fernández said the technology “has managed to control high temperatures in the hydroponic beds of watercress, showing an improvement in the crop.”

Fernández said the system under trial pumped water from a well through a machine, which enters at 15°C (59°F) but is reduced immediately to 8°C (46.4°F) when heat needs to be delivered. In contrast, when greenhouse temperatures need to be reduced during summer, the water that enters becomes 3-4°C warmer.

The release said the use of geothermal power in greenhouses could reduce energy costs by 50% compared to conventional cooling methods.

Read More.....