Grant: Applied Research and Development Grants - Level 2

Climate resiliency is challenging for any greenhouse grower. Those in cold climates, down to -40°C, are large greenhouse gas emitters, especially during the cold winter months. Within the agricultural industry, greenhouseoperations are one of the largest emitters of GHG emissions, while the CO2 fixed by the greenhouse cropsequates to almost 6% of the total CO2 equivalent produced by the greenhouse industry. The embodied carbon is often missed when calculating the greenhouse gas emissions as, historically, the technical resources tomeasure their impact have been lacking, and alternative materials rarely existed. Scott Builders has put togethera consortium of industry and community partners to construct a year-round low carbon and low energycommercial greenhouse for the Albertan climate. This demonstration will provide the metrics, validation and tangible evidence to prove that a climate-resilient greenhouse can be a viable commercial opportunity. Thesolution will accelerate the adoption of greenhouses that support the diversification of Alberta's economy whileremaining aligned to the provincial and federal strategic priorities to reduce emissions. The Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT) Green Building Technologies (GBT) research group is collaborating with Scott Builders, the Red Deer School District, IPB Systems and ReThink Red Deer to drive this innovative solution and to then move the outcomes into the broader community.