Australis Capital Inc (AUSA) announced that ALPS has entered into a $1.9 million contract with Bluehouse Greenhouse (BHGH) for the development of a new facility.

ALPS is a construction management, commissioning, and post-commissioning consultancy company for horticultural crops such as cannabis, fruits, vegetables, mushrooms, and algae, currently being acquired by AUSA. It entered into the agreement with BHGH through its wholly-owned subsidiary Larssen Greenhouse Consulting (LGC).

Spanning 62 acres (2.7 million sqft), the new facility is geared toward the sustainable production of vegetables with a design to reduce the use of water, labor, energy, and land. 

It is projected to use up to 90% less water and 90% less labor compared to a traditional farm. Additionally, the greenhouse’s relatively arid location will allow year-round produce cultivation. 

A key concept behind the facility is 'By locals for locals'. Therefore a sizable percentage of output will be sent to local markets formerly supplied by out of state or regional producers, reducing the carbon footprint of produce transport. 

Power for the BHGH facility will be generated via a 15 MW Co-Generation plant. This will provide the greenhouse with sustainable energy while any excess power will be delivered to the Local Community Choice Aggregate.  

To control and monitor factors such as CO2, light, airflow, humidity, pH, etc, automation and computer control systems will be used throughout the facility. Waste streams from the plant will be utilized for cooling of the greenhouse.

In regards to this deal, Dr. Duke Fu, interim CEO of AUSA stated, "With this sizeable $1.9 million project, ALPS continues to capitalize on opportunities and grow revenues at a rapid pace.”

“Conversion of ALPS's substantial business development pipeline in both the cannabis and traditional horticulture sectors will provide AUSA, once the acquisition is completed, with cash flow to further fuel the execution of its capital-light expansion strategy," he said.

Thomas Larssen, the president of ALPS, likewise emphasized the significance of the project stating, "The BHGH project is significant for ALPS both in terms of contract size and complexity, validating ALPS' leadership in the design and development of boundary-pushing facilities.”

 “We are honored and delighted to be working with the visionaries at BHGH on this important project in an area short of arable land and other resources to supply regional communities with locally, sustainably grown produce. This is a market dynamic we are seeing more and more, and the number of inquiries for facilities of this kind is increasing, supporting the further growth of our business development pipeline."

This will be the first BHGH facility in California.