Six shareholders, five Russian and one Dutch, have embarked on the production of cut roses in a country where the construction of a working greenhouse system costs around 300 EUR-350 EUR/m~2. The greenhouse and fittings are standard: roof sprinklers,a single energy screen, raised-gutters to house the hydroponic (rockwojol) system and a cogeneration (combined heat and power, CHP) unit. The costs have risen with the plans to ensure adequate backup systems for heating and the necessary farm security measures. Marius Pakker, business unit director at DLV Plant in the Netherlands, is the Chekhov Garden project manager. He says, "During the planning stage we had already made a decision to not take any risks concerning the heating of the greenhouse. The continental climate means that we have to deal with temperatures ranging from minus 30°C up to 40°C. And since the gas supply can be unreliable, our backup diesel-fired boiler provides an overcapacity to heat the greenhouses for a week. By law, Russiancompanies are actually obliged to have a backup system to cover their requirements for a two-day period."
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