ImpactAlpha, May 3 – Nortenergy’s greenhouses help grow fruits and vegetables in the windy conditions of Scotland’s Shetland archipelago. Nortenergy was started by Northmavine Community Development Company in 2008 with funding from the Scottish government’s Climate Challenge Fund. The company has one full-time staff member and has sold 69 of its greenhouses, the Financial Times reported. The Scottish development agency Highlands and Islands Enterprise is investing £157,000 ($213,000) to help the company expand.
- Product specs… Nortenergy makes its greenhouses, or “polycrubs,” from recycled plastic salmon pipe, a material used in commercial fish farming, and polycarbonate.
- Growth for a tiny business… The funding will allow it to add several full-time employees and double its turnover to about £500,000 in the next three years.
