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Growing your greenhouse business faster with gas engines. Our combined heat and power engines can increase the efficiency and profitability of your greenhouses. Because it‘s not just your plants that need to grow.

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Although the greenhouse horticulture industry is growing rapidly,

greenhouse growers and plant owners face substantial challenges,

too: increasing production costs, access to cold storage, lack of proper

transportation infrastructure, and growing governmental regulations.

As a result, you need ways to increase the efficiency of your horticul-

ture production while meeting new governmental requirements.

GE’s Jenbacher combined heat and power (CHP) systems not only

provide electricity for onsite or public grid use, but also heat and CO2

to fertilize plants and meet the requirements of an efficient greenhouse.

By increasing the intensity of the artificial lighting that is found in some

greenhouses, plants absorb even more CO2. Plant growth and the

subsequent harvest yield can be significantly increased by enriching

the greenhouse environment with CO2, keeping the temperature

constant, and providing sufficient lighting.

The Greenhouse Horticulture Industry

A global increase in both food demand and environmental awareness has led to a rapid rise in the greenhouse horticulture industry. That is because greenhouses today have the ability to simultaneously increase the viability of their crops and effectively control carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. GE’s technology can provide you with heat, electricity and CO2 fertilization, increasing your greenhouse’s total efficiency, profitability and plant production. Today, more than 1,000 Jenbacher cogeneration units with CO2 fertilization have been installed worldwide, providing about 1,900 MW of power.

Facing significant challenges

Faster growth with gas engines

How does combined heat and power work in greenhouses?

The Jenbacher concept

The energy created by gas engine cogeneration systems in green-

houses can be used in various ways. The electricity can provide the

power for artificial lighting and/or be fed into the public grid. And

while the heat can efficiently meet the greenhouse‘s requirements,

the CO2 from the engine exhaust gas can help fertilize the plants.

That is because the exhaust from gas engines burning natural gas

contains approximately 0.2 kg of CO2 per kWh of energy input.

After the purification of the exhaust gas with special catalytic

converters (SCR and oxidation catalytic converters), it is cooled down

by a heat exchanger to approximately 55°C and supplied to the green-

house for CO2 enrichment. A device that constantly measures the

exhaust gas levels helps ensure the vegetation’s safety.

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Our compact modular design creates a small

footprint and can be adjusted to your spatial

requirements.

Produced thermal energy can be stored for

use as needed. Electricity can be fed into the

public grid or used for artificial lighting,

and we offer an optional full island lighting

control system.

Jenbacher greenhouse technology advantages

Framework requirements

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• Efficient operation is possible with approximately 1 hectare (2.47 acres) or larger greenhouses

• CO2 fertilization is suitable for all crop types while artificial illumination is primarily suitable for vegetables (such as tomatoes or peppers) and flowers (such as chrysanthemums or roses)

- CO2 fertilization with simultaneous heat supply: dimensioning for 0.5 MWel/ha

- CO2 fertilization with simultaneous heat supply and illumination: dimensioning for 0.35 MWel/ha

Our system takes less than 12 months to

construct and can achieve overall efficiency

levels of 95 percent or more.

Higher efficiency

With 50 percent less heat output than

a boiler, the CO2 level can be doubled for

crop efficiency increases up to 140 percent.

CO2 fertilization

Standardized design

Flexible power

CO2 captured during power production

helps increase crop production.

Lower emissions

With our standardized greenhouse cogeneration technology, the

Jenbacher gas engine, catalytic converter, heat exchanger and

all balance of plant equipment and controls are provided in one

convenient package. GE’s greenhouse experts can help develop

your balance-of-plant specifications as well as perform engineering

and site and design work to meet your spatial requirements.

Our standardized package makes your service experience easier,

too, since the generator and all other installations can be removed

at the same time.

GE’s convenient greenhouse package

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GE’s Jenbacher gas engines Greenhouse cogeneration product range

GE’s Jenbacher gas engines have a track record of more than half a century and over 13,500 installations. The main production facility, located in Jenbacher, Austria, leads the development and production of gas-fueled reciprocating engines, packaged generator sets, and cogeneration units for the efficient generation of power and heat. GE’s Jenbacher gas engines range in power from 200 kW to 9.5 MW, and run on either natural gas or a variety of other gases (e.g., biogas, landfill gas, coal mine gas, sewage gas, combustible industrial waste gases).

Type 3 500 kW – 1 MW

0.5 MW Reciprocating engines 10 MW

Type 4 800 kW – 1.5 MW Type 6 1.5 MW – 4.4 MW Type 9 9.5 MW

Complete installationServiceBalance of PlantJenbacher gas engine

+ + =

- Operating income increased by 62 percent through

sales of excess power

- Installed system cost was $7 million, 80 percent of which

was debt-financed at a 6 percent interest rate for 10 years

- Pre-tax payback is projected at 4.7 years

Profits shown are based on a 25-acre (10-hectare) tomato greenhouse in the U.S.

The economic benefits of the CHP solution for greenhouses can be

seen at a 25-acre (10-hectare) tomato greenhouse in the U.S. when

compared to an installation with natural gas-fired boilers. The green-

house illustrated here has installed a Jenbacher J624 gas engine with

two-stage turbocharging and an output of 4.35 MW. It runs 6,600 hours

per year and has heat coverage of 73.5 percent.

A smart addition: Economics from Greenhouse CHP

The following case study, based on a real project in the U.S., highlights the economic benefits of the CHP solution for greenhouses. Please note that results may vary according to local conditions, such as incentives and gas prices.

The breakdown

Before After

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*Trademark of General Electric Company

GE’s Greenhouse Center of Excellence in the Netherlands provides

online monitoring and diagnostics to more than 1,000 greenhouse

cogeneration facilities around the world. It is also home to our 24-hour

global hotline.

In addition, myPlant* enables us to monitor and control your global

fleet of Jenbacher gas engines. myPlant technology transmits

sensor data back to our enterprise servers so that we can calculate

your plant’s operational state, predict faults and analyze any issues.

The data also provides a complete history of your Jenbacher gas

engines, which helps us more quickly and accurately diagnose any

problems. More than half the time, we are able to restore your

engines to service without even sending an engineer to the plant.

In addition to our remote diagnostic capabilities, GE’s myPlant

technology allows you to monitor the operational state of your

global fleet of Jenbacher gas engines from a single integrated,

user-friendly platform.

Remote monitoring and diagnostics

GE’s full range of service offerings can increase the availability and productivity of your plant. We support your gas engine needs by providing the right service at the right time through-out the entire operating life of your Jenbacher engines – flexibly, conveniently and efficiently. Our strong customer focus, value-added offerings, local support, and remote service capabilities are the keys to your satisfaction – and your success.

Reference

GE Power & WaterDistributed Power

At GE, our tradition is innovation. Working with the Dutch

horticulturalists who pioneered CO2 fertilization in greenhouses,

we have based our worldwide Center of Excellence for cogeneration

in greenhouses at our facility in the Netherlands. In addition, we have

three other global research centers at our disposal. Plus, more than

400 engineers continuously work on the technological development

of reciprocating engines. Their task is to develop more flexible,

efficient, powerful and reliable energy solutions – always with

your needs in mind.

The NetherlandsKelvinring 582952 BG AlblasserdamT +31 (0)88 0019700F +31 (0)88 0019701jenbacher.netherlands@ge.com

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GE Power & Water’s Distributed Power is a leading provider of power

equipment, engines and services, focused on power generation at or

near the point of use. Distributed Power’s product portfolio includes

highly efficient industrial reciprocating engines and aeroderivative

gas turbines that generate 200 kW to 100 MW of power for

numerous industries globally. Headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio,

Distributed Power employs more than 4,500 people around the world.

GE Power & WaterDistributed Power

For more information on Jenbacher gas engines: www.ge-distributedpower.com

Main production facility for Jenbacher gas engines, Jenbach, Austria