Flemish ornamental growers are falling back on alternative energy sources where possible, now that gas prices are so high. Over the past decades, many floricultural businesses in Belgium have switched to gas, but some have kept their other boiler. There are also businesses where a gas connection is not an option.
"There is no gas pipe here; otherwise, I would have switched to gas a long time ago," says houseplant grower Joris Volckaert from Nazareth in Flanders, under the shadow of Ghent. He keeps his 5,000 m2 greenhouse warm in winter using coal, and he has a fuel-oil installation in case of emergency. Volckaert switched from fuel oil to coal in 2008 because the oil was so expensive. "There were 15 other greenhouse growers at the time," he says. "Mostly ornamental growers, but also some strawberry growers."
Official figures are lacking, but coal supplier Tomar in Bruges estimates the number of glasshouse growers in Flanders using coal at 150 to 200. They often have installations of 30 to 40 years old. The Belgian Association of Ornamental Growers and Landscapers AVBS (Algemeen Verbond van de Belgische Siertelers en Groenvoorzieners) indicates that ornamental growers are also using fuel oil for heating, even though gas has become the dominant fuel in Flemish greenhouse horticulture.