‘It’s a ticking timebomb’: food producers sound alarm on rise in energy charges

Rob James, Thanet Earth’s technical director, in one of its glasshouses. ‘It’s a ticking timebomb,’ he says of the rise in standing charges this April. Photograph: Graeme Robertson/The Guardian

Outside, it’s an overcast and blustery February day in Kent – hardly the ideal conditions for growing tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers. Yet inside the enormous glasshouses run by grower Thanet Earth, the climate has been optimised to a humid 20C, perfect for the regimented rows of small pepper plants poking out of raised trays.

Growing fresh produce indoors in the south of England year-round requires plenty of energy to provide light, warmth and carbon dioxide. But the site’s energy bills are about to grow too, when a significant increase in electricity standing charges comes into force on 1 April.