A Black Hills Corporation Company

Sunco LTD. - Las Vegas Delight, is the managing company for the greenhouse portion of the business owned by Black Hills Corporation, Rapid City, SD. The company operates a 50-megawatt power plant that sells electricity to Nevada Power. The power plant generates enough electricity to meet the needs of approximately 30,000 homes.

The idea for Las Vegas Delight's greenhouse business took root in the 1970s, when a push was launched to make power plants more efficient. Instead of releasing the hot water they generate from producing power back into the atmosphere, the concept was to use the greenhouse as an industrial host. Hot water generated would be turned into steam, and that steam is used to supply the greenhouse with 180° water circulated through pipes in a closed-loop heating system.

Construction of Las Vegas Delight's 12-acre greenhouse facility was completed in 1994. V &V Noordland, a Dutch/American greenhouse construction company, built the greenhouses. The Dutch have a long history in the greenhouse business. Las Vegas Delight's greenhouses have 16-foot roof gutters, which at the time were unique in the U.S., but are now considered the standard. The taller roofs provide a larger buffer zone for both heating and cooling.

The facility, now in its tenth season, is managed by Ken Gerhart and Karen Seefeldt, an experienced grower in the industry. Gerhart grew up around greenhouse tomato operations in Northern Ohio. Both his father and grandfather produced and sold greenhouse vegetables. During the peak season, Las Vegas Delight employs 43 people.