100% Renewable Mfg Facility...Sweet!

Submitted by larryf13 on Thu, 07/21/2016 - 12:59pm

The energy it takes to make MARS® (which initially created MILKY WAY) bars,WHISKAS® cat food, EXTRA® gum and UNCLE BEN’S® rice in the U.K. is now provided by a new wind farm in Moy, Scotland.

Through a partnership with Eneco U.K., the 20-turbine wind farm, located just south of Inverness in the Scottish Highlands, will generate elictricity equivalent to what powers all 12 Mars U.K. sites solely with renewable energy. When these industrial scale turbines came on line..all Mars UK factories and offices became immediately zero carbon facilities.

The move follows similar steps in the US, where Mars says its operations are carbon neutral thanks to a deal to buy power from a large-scale wind farm in Mesquite Creek, Texas.The twp deals-known generically as renewable power purchases agreements (PPAs) - represent a new trend in the drive by big business to go green. Adobe, BT Group, Goldman Sachs, Google, Microsoft, Nestle, Novo Nordisk, Salesforce and Unilever are just a handful of the "large" corporations now using the mechanism to meet their ambitions of going fully (or almost) renewable.

It appears that Mars is a leader low carbon operations and wants to set an example in carbon-free operations. Mars partnered with Sumitomo Corp. of America on the construction of this 118-turbine 200 MW wind farm in Lamesa Texas. Mesquite marks the biggest long-term commitement to renewable energy use of any food manufacturing manufacturing business in the US. 

We applaud Mars for it leadership in moving it's operations here and abroad to more carbon neutral and hope that other large corporations follow in their footsteps.

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Larry is a volunteer for GENI heading up the clean energy Global Climate 100 investment product. He is a mechanical engineer doing research & development on various alternative energy projects including generating electricity from the power of waves. A long time follower of stocks and investments, now involved in the global shift to alternative energy by investing in companies that operate in three key environmental areas: clean technology and efficiency, renewable energy, and future fuels.