I & I - 2011, Page 23

23I&I
iceLAnd to export
tomAtoes to tHe uk
• Geogreenhouse, a new Icelandic company, is preparing to construct high-tech
greenhouses close to a geothermal power plant, and to use green electricity, geo-
thermal water, CO2 and the purest cold water to produce a range of premium quality
pesticide-free tomatoes with zero carbon footprint. The UK will be the main market.
• According to Sigurdur Kiernan, chairman of the board of directors of Geogreen-
house, the construction of the first phase, a 3.3-hectare greenhouse, will commence
early 2012 and the first shipment abroad is planned for September that year.
• Geogreenhouse has contracted a company in the UK for marketing, packag-
ing and distributing the tomatoes. An extension of up to ten hectares in two years’
time is already planned, and the future vision is for a full-scale 20-hectare high-tech
greenhouse, employing 150 people.

Photo by Páll Stefánsson.
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