Taylor Farms, a producer of value-added produce and healthy fresh foods in North America, unveiled its latest sustainability project at the company's Gonzales, California facility. The facility will now use wind, solar and cogeneration energy systems, making it an advanced system in the agriculture industry.
Combined, the systems generate 4.25 MW of energy on-site, which will be used to run the 192,000 sq. ft. fresh vegetable processing plant. At times, the facility will generate enough power to operate 100% of operations, but on average, the three systems will offset energy usage by more than 90%.
The wind turbine, installed in November 2014, is a 1 MW GE wind turbine. Since its installation, it has produced an annual energy offset of 16%. The 1 MW solar array, consisting of 3,578 panels, was installed in July 2016 with an annual energy offset of 10%.
The natural-gas-powered cogeneration system, the latest addition to the Gonzales facility, was installed this month and is expected to produce an annual energy offset of 62%. With the use of natural gas and on-site energy production, this system is 21% cleaner than a utility grid.
In conjunction with this announcement, Taylor Farms Gonzales hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony to introduce the unique energy eco-system and celebrate the continued growth of Taylor Farms' sustainability efforts. Bruce Taylor, Founder and CEO, Taylor Farms and Nicole Flewell, Director of Sustainability, Taylor Farms, delivered welcome speeches and introduced the three innovative technologies, alongside Mayor of Gonzales Maria Orozco, as well as representatives from REC Solar, Foundation Wind Power and Concentric Power.