Superior Farms unveils wind turbine that covers 50% of its energy use

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Superior Farms unveils wind turbine that covers 50% of its energy use

Greentech Lead U.S: Superior Farms, a leading lamb
producer in the U.S., unveiled its first onsite large-scale wind turbine at the
company’s Dixon processing facility. It is scheduled to be operational by the
beginning of the New Year, and expected to offset about 50 percent of the
company’s total energy use at that location.

The new wind turbine provides roughly one megawatt of
power with a tower 55 meters high and a blade diameter of 61.4 meters,
resulting in height of approximately 280 feet to the tip of the blade at its
highest point.

The unit is projected to produce 2,200,000 kilowatt hours
annually. Over the 20-year term of the Power Purchase Agreement the project
will contribute to energy expense savings as well as provide price certainty
for the electricity produced.

“We are one of the first companies to install a turbine
like this – and certainly the first lamb company in the United States,” said Ed
Jenks, CEO for Superior Farms. “We are committed at every facet of our business
to sustainability. The entire company is proud that we are making this
statement of environmental stewardship.”

Under the PPA arrangement, California-based Foundation
Windpower installs, owns and operates the wind turbine and Superior Farms
purchases the power produced. The endeavor is the equivalent carbon offset to
removing approximately 800 cars from the road and is the equivalent to powering
more than approximately 250 average American homes.

Clark Peterson, Dixon’s Plant Engineer, first started
talking to Foundation Windpower in 2011. A California wind survey named Dixon a
“high wind area” with average winds 12-15 miles per hour. After discussions
with several green companies, including solar opportunities, Peterson
recommended the partnership with Foundation Windpower.

“Our project is highly visible evidence that the largest
lamb processor in the Western U.S. is also the most forward thinking on issues
of sustainability and renewable energy,” said Matt Wilson, CEO of Foundation
Windpower.

“The food industry is increasingly focused on
sustainability measures. For instance, Walmart, Safeway, Nestle Waters and
Anheuser-Busch all recently commissioned distributed wind projects in
California with Foundation Windpower. Indeed, reduced energy costs and improved
sustainability scores are a compelling combination for the food processing
industry nationwide,” Wilson said.

editor@greentechlead.com

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