Summary:

Farming conglomerate The Wonderful Company commits to 100 percent solar power in all of its U.S. operations by 2025. The company plans to build more renewable electricity projects on land it owns in Madera, Fresno, Kings and Kern counties.

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Main Article:

The Wonderful Company, a farming conglomerate with a significant presence in farming and food packing in the central San Joaquin Valley, announced that it plans to convert all of its U.S. operations to fully renewable electricity sources within the next six years.

The Los Angeles-based company already has solar power projects at pistachio, almond and citrus processing facilities in the San Joaquin Valley and its JUSTIN Wines facility in Paso Robles.

Earlier this year, it signed an agreement to build a 23-megawatt solar project on fallow farmland the company owns in the Valley that will expand Wonderful’s renewable-energy capacity to provide enough electricity to produce half of its pistachios, almonds and pomegranates and equal about 25 percent of the company’s total energy use worldwide.

As part of this commitment, The Wonderful Company is joining RE100, a collaborative, global initiative led by The Climate Group in partnership with CDP, uniting more than 160 influential businesses committed to transitioning to 100 percent renewable electricity.
 
“As a responsible steward of the environment, we’ve invested more than $300 million in sustainability research and innovations, clean energy and prudent use of natural resources,” said Stewart Resnick, chairman and president, The Wonderful Company. “This is the natural progression of our sustainability efforts and the right thing for us to do as leaders in the agriculture industry.”
 
The Wonderful Company’s path to 100 percent renewable electricity began in 2007 with a ground-mounted solar installation that, at the time, was the largest privately held single-site solar plant in the U.S. The project generated nearly 15 percent of the required energy at its Wonderful Pistachios & Almonds processing facility. In 2013, the company quadrupled its investment in renewable energy, installing rooftop solar panels at its JUSTIN Wines, Wonderful Pistachios & Almonds, and Halos facilities. The Halos project became the largest privately owned single-site solar rooftop in the U.S.

The ambitious 100 percent goal for Wonderful’s U.S. renewable energy use by 2025 includes plans to build more renewable electricity projects on land the company owns in Madera, Fresno, Kings and Kern counties. They include ranches and a processing plant in western Madera County near Firebaugh, a pomegranate processing plant in the central Fresno County town of Del Rey, a ranch in western Kings County, a mandarin packing facility in Kern County near Delano, and nut ranches and processing facilities in western Kern County, according to the Fresno Bee Newspaper.

Building on the success of these past renewable energy projects, The Wonderful Company will seek to source the remaining 75 percent of its electricity from renewable energy projects sited primarily on company land in the Central Valley. Combined with additional off-site renewable energy projects that will maximize emissions savings, and continued investments in energy efficiency, The Wonderful Company plans to reach 100 percent renewable electricity in the U.S. by 2025, and globally by 2040.  
 
“The agricultural sector is one of the global industries most immediately impacted by the effects of climate change,” said Amy Davidsen, Executive Director - North America, The Climate Group. “As the largest agriculture business to join RE100 to date, we’re delighted to see The Wonderful Company tackle greenhouse gas emissions from the sector by committing to 100 percent renewable electricity, and we encourage all of their peers to join them.”