Entrepreneurship can be compared to high level pro-sport, and the Dutch Horticultural sector seems to be the World Cup. It’s already been 2 months since we visited the Flora Holland Trade Fair. It was busy and – from my perspective – successful and positive. We combined our visit there, besides family and friends, with quite some visits to greenhouse companies. We went for 2 weeks, because we had to catch up after a 3-year absence. Back in Canada my head is still spinning from all the impressions, ideas and inspiration. It is a challenge to filter out what is applicable and important for back home.
What impressed me the most is how energy is managed, how complicated this has become and how the horticultural pro-athlete seemingly has it all under control: CHP, Heat & Cold storage, spark-spread, OCAP (the industrial CO2 infrastructure to supply greenhouses), Geothermal, green hydrogen as a storage battery or as a fuel source, full LED lighting or in hybrid format, subsidies, gas and electricity contracts, nothing is routine and everything requires expertise. Let’s not forget the actual production and sales of floral product. Wasn’t that the premise of it all? (..)
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