Hawaii-based Mauna Loa, one of many world’s main macadamia nut manufacturers, simply received a 1.2-megawatt photo voltaic farm and 500 kW battery storage system. The brand new photo voltaic and storage be a part of current clear vitality sources on the facility, which implies it’s now powered by 100% clear vitality.
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Mauna Loa’s new photo voltaic and storage system, which is able to immediately energy 85% of Mauna Loa’s processing plant in Kea‘au, means it’s now the biggest working PV mission devoted to a non-public firm in Hawaii.
The system, which was developed by Schenectady, New York-based photo voltaic and storage firm DSD Renewables and Maui-based renewable vitality developer No Ka Oi Vitality, is predicted to generate 1.55 million kWh of photo voltaic vitality yearly, avoiding over 1,000 tons of carbon dioxide equal annually.
No Ka Oi Vitality introduced the mission to DSD, which would be the long-term proprietor and supervisor of the photo voltaic and storage system.
The photo voltaic farm options 2,916 photo voltaic panels that sit on three acres on Mauna Loa’s macadamia nut farm.
Mauna Loa’s Hawaiian crop of macadamias are grown with rainwater, making the macadamia some of the sustainable nut varieties. The corporate additionally makes use of the entire nut throughout its manufacturing course of, cleanly burning the shells to create renewable vitality and composting the nut husks to complement the area people’s soil.
Ed Schultz, president and CEO of Hawaiian Host Group, the mum or dad firm of Mauna Loa stated:
This mission properly enhances Mauna Loa’s on-site water and wastewater system, and with the addition of the renewable energy system, our Kea‘au facility can now be 100% self-sustained. We’ll proceed to study and take motion to attenuate our environmental impression as a lot as doable and take care of our ʻāina [land].
Electrek’s Take
Nuts are tasty and nutritious (so long as you don’t have a nut allergy). However plenty of nuts, comparable to almonds, cashews, and pistachios, aren’t very sustainable, as a result of they require plenty of water to provide.
Macadamias, as we beforehand talked about, are far more sustainable on the subject of water wants, and Mauna Loa getting onto 100% clear vitality makes the tasty however expensive nut much more sustainable.
Now if the corporate may simply work out the right way to get rid of the flight emissions produced because the nuts are shipped out of Hawaii to retailers, even higher, however this shift to wash vitality manufacturing actually doesn’t damage.
Learn extra: Hawaii’s Massive Island is getting certainly one of its first utility-scale photo voltaic farms
Picture: DSD Renewables
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