Heeman's Garden Centre gets a major solar power upgrade

Heeman's Garden Centre in Thorndale, Ont., east of London, has installed 264 solar panels that has the potential to supply 57 per cent of the operation's energy needs each year. The company made the announcement Thursday to help celebrate Earth Day.

"We thought today, Earth Day, would be the perfect time to share some super exciting news. Heeman's is going solar!!," Will Heeman tweeted.

He said this is the company's largest investment in green technology to date, an effort that took months of planning, preparation and obtaining permits.

The solar panels will turn the sun's rays into clean, green energy that will power the garden centre's greenhouse and farm operations.

History of investment

Will Heeman said, the family business has long tried to reduce its environmental footprint. Other initiatives include reusing plant containers, reducing the amount of water used and using beneficial insects to control potentially harmful bugs.

"And, now with this solar project, we're able to focus on our greenhouse gas emissions, too," he said. 

Heeman said the solar panels will generate enough energy to produce more than 128,000 kilowatt hours each year, which he said is a lot of power. 

"It's the equivalent of the energy required to power 10.9 homes, take 19.8 cars off the road or burn 100,000 pounds of coal every year.

"I think there's something very symbolic about taking the same energy from the sun that gives life to our plants and gives flavour to our strawberries in produce and then turning that around and using it to power our own operations here."

Heeman called it a big decision for the business but an easy one. 

"We're doing everything in our power today to make sure that we have a brighter future tomorrow."