Freshbay, an automated hydroponic smart farm, has signed a definitive agreement with Novus Earth, an Alberta-based renewable energy solutions provider, to leverage Novus Earth's geothermal technology at Freshbay's geothermal controlled environment agriculture (GeoCEA) facility outside of Hinton, Alberta.

Through this CAD 29 million (~USD 22 million) agreement, FreshBay hopes to provide a sustainable and reliable source of heat and power for its GeoCEA facility, spanning  864,000 sq ft. The facility is expected to produce Freshbay’s renowned Affinoria Fragaria strawberries, all year round. The facility is scheduled to begin construction in 2H 2023, with plans for full operation by summer 2024. 

Analyst QuickTake: Freshbay has been actively working on the construction of its GeoCEA facility. The company initially announced the construction of the facility in February of this year, and in June, it entered a partnership with Affinor Growers to obtain vertical hydroponic towers, polycarbonate Atlantis greenhouses, and an automated irrigation and fertilization system for its GeoCEA facility.