Cargill has teamed up with TEVA Energy to install a solar energy system at a meat processing facility in Fresno, California.
The company has added solar energy at the facility to pre-heat water used throughout the plant for food safety and sanitation purposes, reducing its fossil fuel energy requirements and the environmental footprint.
The solar energy recovery system along with an existing methane recovery system further strengthens the facility's commitment to evaluate and incorporate renewable energy.
Cargill1 Fresno plant general manager Jon Nash said, "The commissioning of this solar thermal system is another milestone toward truly sustainable production at our Fresno beef processing facility."
"We're taking a comprehensive approach using several complementing technologies to achieve our sustainability goals. The TEVA solar system is an important component of that comprehensive initiative that reinforces our focus on environmental stewardship and resource conservation, while serving our customers and being a good corporate neighbor."
The system performance is being monitored in real time by TEVA, Cargill and the state's California Solar Initiative program through remote metering, as well as on-site monitoring equipment.
The Fresno facility produces more than 124,000 tons of beef products per year and employs 975 people.
