Chena
Hot Springs is working toward becoming a self-sustaining community, and an
important part of making this vision a reality is to strive for greater
independence in food production. Chena installed a small test greenhouse
in 2004, which has operated year round and is heated entirely with water from
our geothermal resource. Last January, we were able to maintain greenhouse
temperatures of 78°F while outside temperatures dropped to -56°F, which is
typical for Interior Alaskan winters.
This 134°F temperature differential was the largest recorded for any controlled
environment production facility in the U.S. last year.
Chena has recently added to its controlled environment facilities with the
construction of a new 4320 ft2
greenhouse to provide our restaurant with a greater variety of fresh produce on
a year round basis. Crops planned for the greenhouse include tomatoes, lettuce,
green beans, peppers, cucumbers, and numerous greens and herbs. Chena Hot
Springs is also working in partnership with the University of Alaska Forestry
and Agriculture Experiment Station on a
controlled environment research project for investigating the opportunities of
establishing similar projects throughout the State of Alaska, using geothermal
or other waste heat streams.
Rusty Foreaker, our Garden and Greenhouse Manager,
manages all our production gardens and greenhouses, along with a staff of 3
interns.
Chena
Hot Springs is working toward becoming a self-sustaining community, and an
important part of making this vision a reality is to strive for greater
independence in food production. Chena installed a small test greenhouse
in 2004, which has operated year round and is heated entirely with water from
our geothermal resource. Last January, we were able to maintain greenhouse
temperatures of 78°F while outside temperatures dropped to -56°F, which is
typical for Interior Alaskan winters.
This 134°F temperature differential was the largest recorded for any controlled
environment production facility in the U.S. last year. 