Rivenhall To Host Europe’s Largest Low-Carbon Greenhouse Project

A groundbreaking 40-hectare greenhouse development in Essex, powered by waste incineration, is set to become Europe’s largest low-carbon horticulture site, with the potential to supply up to 6% of the UK’s tomatoes.

Scheduled to begin operations in 2027, the project will harness energy from household waste at the Rivenhall facility, where nearly all of Essex’s domestic rubbish will be burned. The resulting energy will be used to both heat and power the greenhouses – a first for the UK horticulture sector.

Gareth Jones of Indaver, the waste management firm behind the initiative, explained how the system will work:

"The boiler produces steam and some of that steam we'll divert to our new heat exchange, and that will produce the hot water that we'll be sending over to our greenhouses. The rest of the steam goes to the turbine, so it produces electricity from the substation, and some of the electricity will go directly to the greenhouses."

Currently, much of Essex’s household waste ends up in landfill, emitting harmful gases such as methane. Indaver says the Rivenhall incinerator will emit 20% less CO₂ than landfill, while also delivering additional environmental benefits.

The facility aims to provide a sustainable alternative to imported produce. According to Defra, nearly half of the UK’s fresh vegetables are sourced from overseas, with tomatoes frequently shipped in from Morocco, Spain, and the Netherlands. Concerns have been raised about the environmental impact of these imports – particularly the vast plastic-covered growing regions of southern Spain, where Almeria’s “Sea of Greenhouses” is visible from space and droughts are increasingly common.

“Water porosity in north Africa and in southern Spain is a key issue, extremes of temperature and the effects of climate change,” said Ed Moorhouse, project director at Rivenhall Greenhouse.

“What we're seeking to do is, if it was tomatoes, to reshore 6-8% of tomato imports by growing in Essex.”

Despite the promise of the scheme, the National Farmers Union has expressed concerns that further developments like Rivenhall may be threatened by new government planning regulations. The recently introduced biodiversity net gain policy requires all developers to enhance nature as part of their construction plans.

Martin Emmett, chair of the NFU’s Horticulture and Potatoes Board, warned: “The policy was originally designed around housing estates, larger factories and commercial developments.”

As pressure mounts to increase UK self-sufficiency in fresh produce, Rivenhall stands as a flagship project — and a possible template for the future of sustainable horticulture.

Source: Agritech Future