Wind turbines and native prairie grasses have nothing to do with America’s favorite snack, potato chips, but they’re helping Kettle Foods earn recognition for building the greenest food manufacturing plant in the U.S.
The U.S. Green Building Council today awarded the company Gold level certification for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®), recognizing its efforts to minimize the environmental footprint of its new potato chip factory in Beloit, Wis.
Factory features include:
- Installation of 18 wind turbines on the factory’s roof, which will generate enough energy to produce 56,000 bags of potato chips each year
- Filtering and reusing 1.65 million gallons of potato wash water
- Installing premium, high efficiency equipment to reduce the use of natural gas and electricity
- Offsetting 100 percent of electricity use with renewable wind power
- Converting used cooking oil into biodiesel
- Dedicating five acres to restoration of native prairie land
- Sourcing over 35 percent of building materials from within 500 miles of the project site
- Protecting indoor air quality with Green Seal building material and extensive ventilation for fresh air
- Providing quality work environments with natural light and outdoor views for all levels of workers
