Already in the spring of 2021, plans were underway for the 1,600 LED lights that would give the tomato plants light and heat during the winter.
In September, the lighting was in place in the greenhouse, which is Sweden's second largest tomato plantation.
But just when the business's electric power increased - electricity prices in the country also began to change.
- From having added 35 öre, I am now up to about two kronor per kilowatt hour.
It was not what I had planned for when I invested in the lighting, he says worriedly.
30 tons of tomato plants for the dump
Thomas Lilja is critical of how the electricity shortage is handled by politicians, as he experiences it as if no one wants to do anything about the skyrocketing prices.
He invested several million kronor in expanding his tomato cultivation through lighting, to follow the increasing demand for locally grown tomatoes.
Now that he can no longer afford to have all the lights on, he loses millions in revenue and up to 30 tons of tomato plants are lost.
- In terms of results, this will be a disaster.
How will you as a consumer notice the tomato waste in the grocery stores? Hear what the tomato grower says in the clip