Class XI Heads to Germany during their International Seminar
Today, Feb. 6, the SDARL Class XI checked out the hotel in Utrecht and were on the road by 8:00.
Our first stop of the day was in Emsburen, Germany where we visited Emsflower, a green house covering approximately 150 acres. Emsflower is Europes plant production under glass. They grow three different types of tomatoes many different flowers, and are experimenting with growing lettuce in a high tech hydroponic system.
Their current building has been in use for the past twenty years. They use robotics to plant approximately 500,000,000 plant seedlings a year. They also utilize autonomous trolleys to move the planted seedlings around the greenhouse. Our class was very impressed with this greenhouses use of technology.
Our second stop for the day was at Saer Bioenergiepark in Saer beck Germany. The community has over the years become energy self-sufficient by utilizing a combination of solar energy, windmills, and running a composting and biogas plants. The community started out putting solar panels on the south facing roofs of the buildings in town. They then added windmills. The residents sort their bio-trash separately, which is composted. The methane is captured and stored with the methane from the bio gas plant, which is fueled by area corn stalls and animal manure.
When the wind isn’t moving their windmill and when the sun isn’t hitting the solar panels, that’s when they burn the renewable gas that they have stored to power their electrical generators. The community is now producing four times the electricity that they need. This has all been accomplished with local investors and bank loans. No government grants or funds were used.
If you’re interested in experiencing your own International Seminar, apply for SDARL Class XII before applications close on March 20.
