Nestlé Waters North America announced the installation and operation commencement of a third wind turbine at its water bottling facility in Cabazon, California. This week also marks the sixth anniversary of the groundbreaking of the facility’s first two wind turbines in 2012.
With the installation of a third wind turbine at its Cabazon, California bottling facility, Nestlé Waters North America is moving closer to being powered by 100% clean energy.
The three turbines combined have a rated capacity of approximately 22 million kilowatt hours a year, and are expected to supply nearly 50% of the plant’s total electricity needs — while offsetting 18,048 tons of CO2 per year – equivalent to the annual emissions from 1,768 homes or 3,506 passenger vehicles.
Developed by industry leader Foundation Windpower, the third turbine takes the company one step closer toward its goal of being 100% powered by renewable energy sources.
“Our team in Cabazon is really helping us lead the way when it comes to creating a more sustainable future,” said Alexander Gregorian, Vice President and Head of Technical and Production at Nestlé Waters North America. “Through their commitment, and with the critical support of partners like Foundation Windpower and the Morongo Band of Mission Indians, we are moving closer and closer to our ultimate goal of being 100% renewable.”
The Cabazon plant is located on the tribal reservation of the Morongo Band of Mission Indians, a federally-recognized Indian tribe. Nestlé Waters received tremendous support from the Tribe on this important project.
“Morongo has a long and successful history of environmental stewardship, and we applaud Nestlé for sharing that same commitment to sustainability by adding a third wind turbine to its facility here on our reservation,” said Morongo Tribal Chairman Robert Martin.
“We want to build on the tremendous progress we’ve made with the first two turbines while continuing to find new ways to improve energy efficiency and reduce our carbon footprint,” said Cabazon Factory Manager Gary Rice. “As a factory, we are proud of our commitment to sustainability, and this installation moves us significantly closer to achieving our renewable energy ambitions.”
Last spring, Nestlé Waters’ Cabazon factory received the country’s first Gold Certification through the Alliance for Water Stewardship (AWS), by demonstrating, in addition to water efficiency, that their local operations are making a positive contribution to the local groundwater system, establishing best practices for maintaining the site’s water quality, and implementing a water education program in the community.
In addition to these milestones in Cabazon, earlier this year, Nestlé Waters announced a partnership with the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) for its factory in Sacramento, California to be powered by 100% renewable energy. By transitioning its electrical power needs to renewable sources, the carbon footprint of the Nestlé Waters factory will be reduced by more than 21,279 metric tons of carbon dioxide over the next three years. With these latest achievements, over 20% of the electricity Nestlé uses in the U.S. will come from renewable sources by 2019.
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