Purdue prof plans greenhouse-like tunnel to grow crops

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A Purdue University scientist hopes to build a special greenhouse that will grow vegetables in the Indiana winter by tapping
into excess heat produced by a power plant on the West Lafayette campus.

Professor of horticulture Cary Mitchell’s
goal is to grow produce in a greenhouse-like tunnel he plans to build near Purdue’s Wade Power Plant.

The greenhouse
will trap heat and moisture when the water used to cool Purdue’s coal-fired boilers is piped underground beneath it, warming
the soil enough to grow crops in the winter.

Mitchell recently received a $75,000 grant from Wal-Mart to help with
the project.

The Wal-Mart grant puts Mitchell more than halfway toward the amount needed for the project. Wal=Mart
manager Larry Whitlow says the company is interested in the research as a way to cut costs and benefit local communities.

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