On 13th March, the European Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms, Elisa Ferreira, visited one of the pilot sites of the Interreg NWE project GROOF, hosted by the Conseil pour le Développement Economique de la Construction (CDEC) in Bettembourg, Luxembourg.
The Commissioner Ferreira was joined by Luxembourg's Minister for Energy and Spatial Planning, Claude Thurmes, and Family Affairs and Integration, Corinne Cahen as well as by Anne Calteux, Representative of the European Commission in Luxembourg.
The delegation visited the innovative greenhouse of the GROOF project, which stands for “Greenhouses to Reduce CO2 on Roofs”. It aims at implementing an innovative cross-sectoral approach to reduce CO2 emissions in the construction and agriculture sectors by combining energy sharing and local food production. With a total budget of 5.9 m EUR – including 3.56 m EUR of ERDF support from Interreg NWE –, the project studies synergies between the construction and agriculture industries by building four greenhouses on rooftops in four European cities: Paris (FR), Gembloux (BE), Bürstadt (DE) and Bettembourg (LU).
The main features of the greenhouse were presented by Marcel Deravet, Project Manager at CDEC and project lead partner: “This greenhouse comprises two main aspects: first, food that is cultivated and consumed on the spot by the restaurant in our premises, and second, the hot air that is used to heat the building also serves to heat the greenhouse”.
In March 2023, GROOF was awarded the Energy Globe Award for its outstanding contributions to sustainable energy solutions. The Energy Globe Award is an international environmental prize that recognises outstanding sustainability projects and initiatives from around the world.
More information
GROOF - Greenhouses to Reduce CO2 on Roofs