Fichtner Consulting Engineers acted as Technical Adviser to Greencoat on the project. The greenhouses have used more glass than the Shard building in London. Each greenhouse is one-and-a-half times the size of the O2 in London.

The development has been built next to Anglian Water’s water treatment facilities, where the largest heat pump system project in the UK will pump heat from the sewage works into the energy centres serving the greenhouses, providing the perfect growing temperature for millions of tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers.

The vegetables will be grown vertically and hydroponically and with a quarter of the carbon footprint of regular greenhouses.

The greenhouses, being a world-first in their use of renewable energy, have positioned the UK as leading the way in a low-carbon solution to growing sustainably. It is hoped they will pave the way for similar projects.

The project will also create up to 360 permanent jobs in the area, and up to 460 at peak season.

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