YOUR BUSINESS AUTHORITY

Springfield, MO

Log in Subscribe

City seeks input on multimillion-dollar greenhouse

Posted online
The city of Springfield's Department of Environmental Services is putting out feelers to explore the feasibility of a multimillion-dollar community greenhouse.

The city will host a discussion with business and community leaders interested in the project at 10 a.m. on May 8 at the Springfield-Greene County Botanical Center.

“We’re looking for ideas about how we can make this greenhouse operation a real community project,” Environmental Services Sustainability Officer Barbara Lucks said in a news release. “There are only a handful of these types of greenhouses across the country, and we’re excited about the possibilities.”

The $2 million to $2.5 million, 30,000-square-foot greenhouse would be powered by waste heat and electric power from the Noble Hill Landfill Renewable Energy Center in northwest Springfield.

The center, a partnership between the city and City Utilities, began delivering electricity to CU customers in May 2006. A generator converts methane gas produced by the city's landfill, providing 3.2 megawatts of electricity to some 2,000 customers.

The greenhouse would be powered by a portion of the center's waste heat, the release said.

The city began exploring the feasibility of the greenhouse - which would increase food grown locally - in 2010 after receiving a $40,000 grant from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, according to Springfield Business Journal archives.

City Manager Greg Burris said the goals of the greenhouse project include:
  • providing locally grown, organic food for area restaurants and grocery stores;
  • contributing items to food pantries;
  • offering research opportunities for students; and
  • reducing the community's carbon footprint.
According to the release, partial funding is available for the project from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and the Transform Missouri Initiative, which is administered by the state Department of Natural Resources.[[In-content Ad]]

Comments

No comments on this story |
Please log in to add your comment
Editors' Pick
From the Ground Up: Republic Intermediate School

The Republic School District is on track to open its Intermediate School for fifth- and sixth-grade students for the 2025-26 academic year.

Most Read
Update cookies preferences