Hacienda North Farms

At a Glance
• System Configuration: 1 × C1000S Capstone Microturbine integrated with 500 kW Solar PV Array
• Annual Generation: >4,000 MWh/year of independent baseload power
• Total Operating Efficiency: Over 90% system efficiency via combined electricity, heating, and CO₂ exhaust recovery
• Thermal & Process Integration: 5,000,000 BTU/hr of recovered hot water for greenhouse climate control + ultra-clean exhaust gas (>10 ppm CO concentration) utilized directly for crop CO₂ fertilization across 96+ acres under glass
• Operating Mode: Off-Grid Standalone (Complete Energy Independence with no battery storage required)


The Challenge
Located in a premier agricultural region home to North America’s highest concentration of indoor greenhouses, Hacienda North Farms (now owned by Mucci Farms) operates an expansive indoor greenhouse facility specializing in bell peppers for Canadian and U.S. markets. When planning a major expansion of over 90 acres under glass, the farm ran into severe regional infrastructure barriers: the local electrical utility lacked the capacity to supply the required power. While the farm initially purchased a 500 kW solar PV array, utility constraints prevented grid interconnection. To proceed with expansion, the farm required an off-grid, highly redundant energy system capable of delivering 100% reliable power, heating, and clean CO₂ enrichment without relying on external utility hookups.


The Solution
A 1 MW off-grid CHP microgrid was designed and constructed from the ground up, featuring a modular 1,000 kW Capstone microturbine integrated with the farm's existing 500 kW solar PV array through an advanced microgrid controller.
• 100% Off-Grid Microgrid Backbone: Functions as the primary baseload power generator, seamlessly incorporating solar PV energy when available to reduce natural gas consumption without requiring costly battery storage.
• Dual Thermal & Crop Yield Recovery: Captures microturbine exhaust heat to generate 5,000,000 BTU/hr of free hot water for greenhouse climate control while utilizing the ultra-clean exhaust (>10 ppm CO) directly as CO₂ fertilizer to accelerate crop growth.
• Modular Redundancy & High Uptime: Features five independent 200 kW microturbine bays that throttle dynamically based on real-time load. Individual bays can undergo routine service while the remaining units maintain farm power, ensuring 99% uptime and zero operational downtime.
• Low-Maintenance, Air-Bearing Design: Eliminates liquid coolants and lubricating oils, preventing environmental contamination hazards across sensitive growing environments.


The Results
• Complete Energy & Grid Independence: Fully powers the expanded greenhouse complex behind an islanded microgrid, removing all dependence on constrained regional utility infrastructure.
• $200,000 Annual O&M Savings: Delivers roughly $200,000 in annual fuel, operating, and maintenance cost savings compared to traditional reciprocating engine generators.
• >90% Total Efficiency & 30% GHG Reduction: Maximizes fuel utilization by harvesting electricity, space heating, and agricultural CO₂, driving down facility greenhouse gas emissions by more than 30%.
• Zero-Downtime Reliability: Guarantees continuous climate regulation and lighting critical for high-value agricultural yield protection.


"As a farming operation, we depend on sunlight, clean air, and clean water, so the environmental benefits of the system were important to us. And as it turns out, choosing microturbines over a reciprocating engine would save us roughly $200,000 per year in operating, fuel, and maintenance costs."
— Johnny Braun, Vice President, Hacienda North Farms