Ontwikkeling in de energie-efficiëntie in de biologische glasgroenteteelt 1998-2008

In 1998, the energy efficiency (production per unit of energy use) of organic greenhouse vegetables was shown to be lower than the energy efficiency of current greenhouse vegetables. A new investigation has been made to show if improvement has been made since then. This improvement is necessary to keep the environmental friendly image of organic greenhouses. The investigation showed that the energy efficiency of the organic vegetable greenhouses has improved in 2007 with more than 60% since 1998. This is realised with 14% less energy use and 44% more production per m2. The lower energy use is mainly caused by a more intense use of thermal screens. The higher production is mainly caused by a better control of plagues and diseases. These percentages should be treated with caution, because of the small (n=4) sample of organic greenhouses. Still, the lower energy use and the higher production indicate a positive development in the last 10 years. The organic greenhouse vegetables seem to catch up on a backlog of energy efficiency compared to current greenhouse vegetables.