Southwestern Ontario greenhouses to receive new incentives for LED upgrades

The province is offering new incentives to intended to make greenhouses more green.

Ontario's Ministry of Energy said last week that up to $136 million will be invested to help greenhouse operators in southwestern Ontario improve energy efficiency by making changes like switching their lights to LEDs. 

While the details surrounding the incentives aren't yet known, Joe Sbrocchi, general manager of the Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers, said the funding shows that the government recognizes that greenhouses are one type of "farming of the future."

Sbrocchi said about 70 per cent of new greenhouses have LEDs already.

LISTEN | Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers General Manager Joe Sbrocchi talking about switching lights in greenhouses to LEDs:

According to Sbrocchi, LEDs use less energy, meaning they would be cheaper to operate. They are flexible with how they can be programmed to follow a specific lighting recipe for the crops they illuminate.

Traditional greenhouse lights include high-pressure sodium (HPS) lights. They require more electricity to operate, though they do also help keep the greenhouses warm, he explained.

Sbrocchi said older facilities did not initially switch to LEDs due to high costs and the technology not being readily available.

"The cost differential has come down quite a bit," he said.

Switching to LED lights from more traditional lighting sources will not make a noticeable difference in terms of how much light is seen outside the greenhouses, according to Sbrocchi.

As well, the amount of light greenhouses can emit is limited due to bylaws in municipalities such as Leamington.

"There's a lot more [light] being blocked through curtains and things of that nature," he said.

The program was announced Tuesday along with a number of other new programs aimed at energy efficiency. They include an incentive for residential customers to run their air conditioning less in the summer. The provincial government said the programs would cut greenhouse gas emissions by three million tonnes over 20 years. 

In a statement, a spokesperson for the ministry said that support for greenhouses will come in the form of incentives to install LEDs and controls for lighting and environmental systems, including the option for incentives for solar generation.

"This would reduce local peak demand, offsetting the need for new generation resources and saving growers money on their bills," the spokesperson said.

In an emailed statement to CBC News, Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens said the wider announcement "is a win-win for residents and businesses in Windsor-Essex."