Renewable energy offers several benefits for produce growers and packers, including a reduced carbon footprint and tangible dollar savings.
Here’s what some fruit growers and packers shared about their journey to adding renewable energy.
Hess Bros. Fruit goes solar
Hess Bros. Fruit Co. in Lancaster, Pa., recently added more than 1,000 solar panels to the roof of its 140,000-square-foot packing facility. The project is expected to generate more than 600 kilowatts of power and meet about 35% of its energy need, said Zach King, co-owner and vice president of operations.
King said the company considered adding solar energy a few years back but decided to move forward with solar energy about nine months ago. Despite the large capital expense, the leadership team believes in the importance of lessening the strain on Lancaster’s electric grid, he said, adding that the company expects to recoup its investment in around 10 years.
“We are trying to lessen our footprint, and with the more demand that the grid has on it now than it did 10, 15, 30 years ago, it seems like a good move for us,” King said.
Hess Bros. Fruit Co. worked with Paradise Energy Solutions to outfit the packinghouse. The company approached this project with the potential to expand its solar panels in the future on other buildings, King said.
“This company is a local company — they’re reputable,” he said. “They are really good at what they do. Solar panels keep getting more efficient and better. Nine months ago when we decided to move forward with this [project], something changed in those nine months and these aren’t the panels that we were supposed to get. These are better.”
King said being a provider of healthy snacks and food and adding renewable energy go hand in hand.
“We are pretty proud of reducing our energy footprint,” he said. “The savings that come with that obviously is monetary, and that’s also of value, but that’s not the only reason we did it.”
And while Lancaster might not seem to be the epicenter of sunny weather, King said he and his family added solar panels to their home about nine years ago and realized that ultraviolet rays get generated even in cloudy weather.
“You’re averaging out the length of the day,” he said. “So, if it’s winter and you only have eight hours of sunlight instead of the normal 16 hours of sunlight in summertime, you’re not going to get as much production.”
King also said his teen daughters are excited about the addition at Hess Bros. Fruit Co., as they’re interested in sustainability. He said this interest carries over to retailers looking to purchase apples from Hess Bros.
“We are in charge of taking care of the Earth, and we have that responsibility with the more emissions we put out and the more stuff we do,” he said. “This is one way to take some burden off of that grid. It’s responsible to do that.”
Chris Sandwick, director of marketing at Hess Bros. Fruit Co., said the project is a natural progression as growers are intertwined with sustainability.
“Our growers are incredible stewards of the land, and we want to follow suit,” he said. “We also consider ourselves to be good stewards of the land, and so this is another step in that direction.”
King said Lancaster electric provider PP&L offers incentives — intended to encourage businesses to utilize renewable energy — that helped the company offset the cost. He said Lancaster city and Lancaster County officials were accommodating with permitting as Hess Bros. Fruit Co. embarked on the project.
“That’s a testament to the community we live in,” he said.
Wish Farms boosts renewable energy output
Plant City, Fla.-based Wish Farms added solar panels to its existing array last fall. The more than 2,100 panels now span more than 80,000 square feet of warehouse roof space and parking lot covers.
Wish Farms estimates the project will produce 1.6 gigawatts (1,600,000 kilowatt-hours) of energy each year and will power about 75% of its warehouse with renewable energy.
“The motivation to add solar to our operations was an economic decision as well as an environmental one,” said Nick Wishnatzki, public relations manager for Wish Farms. “Our warehouse facility has a significant footprint with 100,000 square feet of refrigerated space, so moving to solar felt like the right thing to do from a green perspective.”
Wishnatzki said the project will save about 36,000 tons of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere, and the company also anticipates the added value over time from the addition of renewable energy.
“Currently, it is covering more than half of our power needs at the warehouse,” he said. “The more energy rates increase over time, the more valuable the system becomes. We estimate that the current payback timing to be around seven years, give or take, depending on where interest rates go.”
Like Hess Bros. Fruit Co., Wish Farms also sees the symbiotic relationship between the fruit the company produces and the renewable energy it now uses.
“In many ways, farmers were the first environmentalists,” Wishnatzki said. “They had to take care of the land so it would take care of them. We are proud to continue that tradition by utilizing this 21st-century technology to make a difference for future generations.”
Wishnatzki recommends any grower or produce business considering solar energy to utilize existing structures such as rooftops.
“Solar projects that take up valuable and limited farmland is not the right direction to go, in my opinion,” he said. “It is important that the agriculture sector leads by example and advocates for responsible solar.”
Wish Farms also uses its renewable energy to power nine electric car charging stations at its headquarters and 14 electric forklifts and pallet jacks in its warehouse.
“Berries are grown with the help of the sun at our farms, and then they are cooled by using power generated from the sun,” Wishnatzki said. “Solar is an important component to the energy revolution happening in agriculture and in the broader economy. We are happy to be at the forefront of that movement.”
