Clover Goes Solar

Hi, Everyone.  It’s been a while since I’ve posted here and we have been very busy in Clover Country!  There has been a lot commotion at our plant lately and some new additions to our roof.  We are proud to announce Clover has installed a solar cogeneration array.  Basically this is a system of solar panels that create energy we will use to create electricity and heat water for our waste water treatment system at the plant.  This 50.6 kilowatt system will cut energy use in half while providing renewable electricity and 6,000 gallons of hot water daily.  This is very exciting for us as we are the first dairy in the WORLD to utilize this type of solar technology.

For years Clover has been a pioneer in the dairy industry with regard to our sustainability efforts.  Our family farms operate sustainably by design and we have implemented eco-friendly technology into our production and distribution, as well.  From solar panels to efficient waste water treatment to the use of cold plate technology on our trucks, we are passionate about keeping our place at the cutting edge of sustainability initiatives.  In fact, Clover is one of 14 companies worldwide to be awarded the Seal of Sustainability by the Sustainable Business Institute.  To learn more please visit the “Sustainability” section of our website.

Additionally, thanks to the connections of our Director of Food Safety and Regulatory Affairs Marcia McGlochlin and the efforts of Quality Assurance Manager Mike Benedetti, Clover had the pleasure of being one of the key members of the Dairy Plant Smart and Dairy Fleet Smart projects undertaken by the Innovation Center for US Dairy.  These projects involved the development of web-based carbon benchmarking and decision tools for the dairy industry.  We will be able to use the Dairy Plant Smart and Dairy Fleet Smart carbon calculators and benchmarking tools to be able to easily calculate the company’s sustainability improvements and contribution toward the overall dairy industry goal of reducing GHG emissions by 25% by 2020.

In the spirit of staying on the forefront of ways in which we support our environment, it is with great pleasure we take this next step toward sustainability through our new solar panels.

Our waste water treatment system is part of the Dairy Plant Smart project.  Integrating this system with our solar cogeneration installation shows how a dairy can reduce the energy costs required for heating water for waste water treatment without changing chemicals or routines, since hot water is a result of solar cogeneration.

The solar installation will help the plant save on energy bills and make products with less impact on the environment.  The installation will decrease Clover’s greenhouse gas emissions by 32 metric tons each year, equal to saving 800 trees or not using 3,500 gallons of gasoline.

Thank you for your support of Clover as we continue moooving toward greener pastures!