Two years ago the German company 'Steiner GmbH & Co. KG' decided to build the biggest greenhouse in Bavaria. Now various vegetables are grown on a surface of 12 hectares in Kirchweidach. The special thing about this is: the complete need for energy is covered by geothermal heat, reports the German website Taspo.de. And successfully, as the first harvest brought a yield of 3,300 tonnes of tomatoes and 1,100 tonnes of peppers.
Owner Josef Steiner has invested 17.5 million Euro in the greenhouse. He chose geothermal heat because it is a cheap source of energy. Buying a geothermal installation is more expensive than comparable oil and gas installations, but is up to 70% cheaper to use. Steiner also has another advantage compared to the competition from Spain and the Netherlands: his products don't have far to travel to the consumer. His products end up on the shelves of two German supermarket chains right after harvest.