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County’s Green Energy Park seeks tenants for greenhouse
By Stephanie Salmons
The Jackson County Green Energy Park is turning trash into treasure by using methane gas created by the old landfill to heat a new greenhouse.
Project directors are currently seeking tenants to grow crops in the new structure.
“What is really amazing about our greenhouse is that we are going to heat it with methane gas that comes out of the landfill,” assistant project director Carrie Blaskowski said. “It’s fairly common in landfill projects to use greenhouses because the methane gas is easy to use to heat them.”
Methane is released as the garbage in the landfill decomposes. A greenhouse gas, it can harm the environment if allowed to escape. However, methane burns like regular gas, so the JCGEP pipes the gas directly from the field for use at the park, Blaskowski said.
The completed greenhouse at the Jackson County Green Energy Park offers 7,500 square feet of growing space. The park is looking for growers to rent space beginning Nov. 1.
The greenhouse project is part of the second phase of the JCGEP, she said.
According to Blaskowski, the park’s greenhouse was affordable thanks to a donation from Chris Melton and her late husband, Coy. The Meltons formerly operated Smoky Mountain Nursery and donated their old greenhouses after they closed their business. Those greenhouses were dismantled so the steel framing could be used in the park’s new greenhouse, she said.
“All total (the Meltons’ donation) probably saved us at least $25,000 in steel,” Blaskowski said. “It was always on the agenda to put greenhouses up here, but that sort of accelerated the process. It definitely got things jump started.”
Blaskowski said the park is hoping to extend its idea of being a business incubator. The idea is to help people who have good ideas but lack the means to start a business on their own.
“We’re hoping also that this attracts people to stay in the area. In other words, if you take a lease with us for a year to three years and you’re growing your business here, you’re going to get to know everybody around here and you’re going to want to stay here with your business,” she said. “Our greenhouse, is really similar to our craft studios,” Blaskowski said. “We’re trying to attract people that maybe wouldn’t be able to afford to set up greenhouses on their own, who have an experimental or educational idea that they’re looking to promote. We are completely open to anybody’s business proposals to rent out this space.”
Blaskowski said they have had meetings with local growers to cultivate ideas about uses for the space.
“This is definitely a community space,” Blaskowski said. “We’re very flexible.”
Greenhouse space will be available beginning Nov. 1. However, Blaskowski said selection will be based on many criteria such as business growth potential, needs of the applicant, educational outreach benefits and sustainability, while also taking into account what tenants and crops will work well together.
“We have to take everything into consideration,” Blaskowski said. “Certainly we want to recoup our cost, but we want to look at the big picture of what our park stands for.”
During the off seasons, when the space is less likely to be rented out, Blaskowski said she would like to see the greenhouse used for community outreach programs.
“There are all kinds of ideas, Blaskowski said. “The sky’s the limit if you ask me.”
The greenhouse is 7,500 square feet, and Jackson County is using 1,500 square feet to grow landscaping plants. The remaining 6,000 square feet could be rented out to as many as four growers.
Blaskowski said Jackson County leaders have been supportive of not just the greenhouse, but the entire park.
“One of the reasons we want to get tenants in besides Smoky Mountain Biofuels, is so that the park becomes self-sufficient and runs itself,” she said. “It’s incredibly important that we take resources that are available to us – like this methane gas – and make the best possible use of it.”
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