Burgess BioPower began demolishing an old warehouse on its site, making way for a to-be-announced company to build and operate a $25 million, 190,000 square-foot hydroponic greenhouse.
Removal of the vacant warehouse building is an important step as the greenhouse developer looks to finalize its co-location agreement, begin construction in Spring 2020 and bring baby leafy greens to the region in 2021. The facility expects to produce 1 million pounds of baby leafy greens, such as spinach, arugula, and kale, annually for local and regional distribution, and provide about 30 full-time jobs once operational.
“Excitement continues to build as the community takes another step towards a hydroponic greenhouse in town that can grow produce for the region year-round,” said Dammon Frecker, executive vice president, CS Operations, Inc. “Working with like-minded partners and expanding the diversity of the Berlin economy has been our top priority since we began operations in 2008.”
Burgess BioPower has enlisted the help of five regional companies for the demolition project: York Land Services of Berlin will provide survey support; Chapman Scrap Metal Recycling of Milan will demolish the old warehouse; HEB Engineers, Inc. of North Conway will provide site civil design support; SW Cole Engineering, Inc. of Somersworth will support geotechnical engineering support; and AD Construction, LLC of Berlin will support the geotechnical exploration work.
“We continue to be impressed with the care and diligence with which Burgess BioPower is moving through this process,” said Paul Grenier, mayor of Berlin. “The company has applied tough standards when evaluating potential co-location partners, so we know the company building and operating the hydroponic greenhouse will make a great addition to the Berlin community. We look forward to having a new economic partner in the community.”
In May, Burgess BioPower was awarded $500,000 in grant funding from the NH Public Utilities Commission to build a thermal energy recovery system to beneficially utilize energy from Burgess’ steam condenser cooling water circuit. In addition to using the thermal energy for the greenhouse, Burgess BioPower is also working with the City of Berlin to evaluate using thermal energy to heat the streets and sidewalks downtown, melting snow.
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