"Electricity is one of the largest cost items in cultivation"
Source: VFD.com
Agtira and Öresundskraft enter electricity partnership: "Electricity is one of the largest cost items in cultivation" Agtira AB's subsidiary Pepino Växthus has signed an agreement with Öresundskraft regarding the IndustriFlex flexibility service for the greenhouse facility in Påarp outside Helsingborg. When the new greenhouse lighting is put into operation at the end of the fourth quarter of 2026, the electricity cost for the lighting is estimated to be approximately 25 percent lower than in equivalent operation without IndustriFlex and associated optimization services.
© Agtira The agreement builds on the 3 MW of power that the Agtira Group secured from Öresundskraft in 2025, which enables the ongoing lighting investment of 15,000 square meters and the conversion to year-round production of Swedish cucumbers. Greenhouse lighting is a large and well-controllable electrical load and is therefore well suited to the markets for flexibility and support services.
When the new lighting is put into operation at the end of the year, we will have the opportunity to actively control and optimize our electricity use. With IndustriFlex and associated optimization services, we estimate that the electricity cost for the lighting will be around 25 percent lower than in equivalent operation without the services, while our facility can contribute to balancing the electricity grid.
Why this matters: For operators, this is a water-management story. The useful signal is that direct substrate measurements can help cut drain loss materially without giving up yield or fruit quality, which is exactly the kind of controllable efficiency gain a facility can build on.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does substrate sensing matter in free-drain strawberry systems?
Because drain percentage tells a grower what already happened, while substrate moisture and EC data show root-zone conditions directly. That makes it easier to cut water loss without guessing.
What is the operator takeaway from this trial?
If the thresholds are understood well enough, growers can reduce drain water materially while protecting yield and fruit quality, which makes sensing an operational tool instead of a reporting tool.
