Karl, a long-time Alaskan, entrepreneur and the current general manager of Chena Hot Springs Resort, has formed a partnership with staff at Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station at the University of Alaska Fairbanks to operate an experimental greenhouse operation, powered by alternative energy.

"We're working on experiments never done elsewhere in the world," Karl said, during an early February tour of one of two greenhouses planned for this year's program at the resort, located 60 miles northeast of Fairbanks. "The first experiment has been to make sure it will work in the winter, and to make sure it will work well."

The 22-by-50-foot structure, enclosed with Visqueen, is heated from hot springs water, piped throughout the greenhouse in one and one-half inch fin tubes running around the floor. After considerable testing this winter, Karl said that the hot water source is enough to keep the greenhouse warm without any additional heat source, even in sub-zero temperatures common in Interior Alaska. Additionally, a fan on a large-scale radiator blows hot air into the greenhouse, elevating the temperature to a balmy 75 degrees, a welcome respite on a 30-below-zero day.

A 150-year old water ram, which uses current from a flowing creek, lifts the hot water up through the heating system, Karl said. Currently, the radiator fan is operating on the resort's diesel-fired generator system, but plans call for shifting it to a hydroelectric power source that taps a local creek with enough fall or drop to generate electricity. "We'll be using all alternative energy before the year is over," Karl said.

Additionally, the greenhouse is receiving massive amounts of carbon dioxide, thanks to use of a traditional "knock out drum," as commonly described in the oil industry. Water piped from the hot springs, rich with carbon dioxide, flows into a tank, forcing the gas to rise to the top. The nutrient-rich gas is bled off and piped into the greenhouse for plant consumption and the water drains out of the tank's bottom.

Increased levels of carbon dioxide hasten the growing process of plants and increase yield, Karl said. Part of the UAF-supported research will be to determine the optimal levels. "In a controlled environment, we believe we can produce 100 percent more fruit in half the time."