Zero-emission greenhouse production in Southwest France

Three French farmers teamed up to create a sustainable greenhouse project in Southwest France. In March 2020 they will pick the first tomatoes that are grown with the help of green residual heat.

The 3,6 hectare EcoSerre project of Tomate D’Auïtou in Rosiers-d’Egletons is the result of a cooperation between the agricultural entrepreneurs Geoffrey Goutoule, Simon Desbordes and Jacques Faurel. They envisioned the zero-emission production of fresh greenhouse vegetables in their local area. Thanks to the residual energy coming from a nearby powerplant and the integration of the latest greenhouse technology, they are able to produce a large variety of tomatoes with without the use of fossil fuels, pesticides and a minimal water footprint.

The EcoSerre greenhouse project is connected to a local incinerator waste treatment plant. The heat generated at this incinerator is exchanged via a closed circuit that is connected to the greenhouse complex. Ridder provided intelligent control solutions such as the Ridder MultiMa process computer and the Ridder Synopta software to control the energy management of this process. Thanks to the use of a double Ridder Energy Saving Screen installation in the greenhouse, the energy-use of the company is minimized even more.

The project was realized by Ridder partner Divatec, who was also responsible for the implementation of the various Ridder Productive labour management solutions. These systems are used to optimize the productivity of the workers and gain insight in the operational processes at the company.

The greenhouse will be used to for growing various varieties such as beefsteak tomatoes, coeur de boeuf, local varieties and even pink tomatoes. The first production is expected in March 2020 and will be marketed through the large cooperative of Les Paysans de Rougeline.