Industrial, Sourcing Renewables, Wind  -  April 10, 2019

Hormel closes in on 50% RE with VPPA

Hormel Foods Corporation has signed a virtual power purchase agreement (VPPA) for wind energy. Through this and other initiatives, the company will be supplied by almost 50% renewable wind power.

"As a leading corporate citizen in our industry, we are inspired by projects that minimize environmental impacts and align with the interests of our customers and consumers around the world," said Tom Raymond, director of environmental sustainability at Hormel Foods. "This agreement supports our company's environmental sustainability goals and is a testament to our commitment and support of renewable energy."  The new project will result in a reduction of approximately 197,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions.

The new wind farm will be located near Milligan, Nebraska. Construction is expected to be completed in 2020. The farm will be capable of 74 MW of power and an estimated 349,000 MWh of electricity each year. Hormel Foods partnered with Kinect Energy Group to assess the project and negotiate the agreement.

In addition to this agreement, Hormel Foods also supports the renewable energy markets by subscribing to community solar gardens at five manufacturing locations, including a co-sponsorship with Westar Energy for its first community solar garden near Wichita, Kan., where the company manufactures most of its Hormel^® Natural Choice^® bacon products.

"The addition of renewable energy helps to clean the electrical grid and drive sustainable food production," said Coulter Wood, energy manager at Hormel Foods. "We will look to lead the way in renewable energy acquisition as we continue to feed the world's growing population in a sustainable manner."

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